The Premier League season is nearly upon us, so it’s time to take a look at the Arsenal roster and depth chart. First up, the goalkeepers and defenders that have carried the Gunners to the best defensive record in the PL for three seasons running. Arsenal’s defense is organized, stingy, and physical. They clearly take pride in defending well and celebrate big tackles and blocks like goals. They must be unpleasant to face, which is exactly what you want. And if you manage to get past them, you’ve got David Raya to contend with.
This bunch is arguably the best in Europe, particularly when combined with the players in front of them and Mikel Arteta’s setup. They’ll be tested to start the season, though. Both William Saliba and Jurrien Timber — the first choice RCB and RB — are out injured. I bet they rise to the challenge.
David Raya, GK, 30 – the Spanish goalkeeper has won three-consecutive Premier League Golden Gloves (most clean sheets, shared with Matz Sels in ‘24-’25). He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now, despite not being Spain’s first choice, and is the best fit for the way Arsenal play. His poise on the ball and distribution make the team difficult to press and his line-splitting passes start attacking moves. His quickness, athleticism, and large hands make up for his comparatively small frame (6’1). Despite his penchant for acrobatic saves in key moments, Raya actually kept out 1.1 fewer goals than expected last season, which is about where that number has been since joining Arsenal.
If he’s not in the running for a fourth-consecutive Gold Glove, which would tie him with Petr Cech and Joe Hart for the most all-time, something will have gone quite wrong with him and / or Arsenal.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, GK, 31 – heralded last summer as a significant upgrade at backup keeper over ‘24-’25 backup Neto, Kepa fell well short of expectations. His poor performance in the Carabao Cup Final sticks out like a sore thumb and he’s not looked particularly impressive in the preseason.
If he’s at the club beyond the close of the transfer window, which he may not be, he’ll play the Carabao and FA Cup matches, and hopefully that’s it.
Illan Meslier, GK, 26 – signed on a free transfer from Leeds United this summer after not only losing his starting spot but being relegated to third-choice. He was magnificent when he broke through in ‘20-’21 but hasn’t replicated that form in the top flight. To my eye, he’s looked better than Kepa in the preseason but that’s not a particularly difficult bar to clear.
We may not see him play a competitive match for the club all season. Hopefully training with the pressure off at Arsenal helps him rediscover what had people so excited about him five years ago. If not, who cares, he’s the third-string keeper. His biggest value-add will probably be freeing up Tommy Setford to go out on loan.
Tommy Setford, GK, 20 – the highly-regarded goalkeeping prospect is likely heading out on loan this season to get regular playing time. Las Palmas in La Liga 2 seems the likeliest destination right now.
William Saliba, RCB, 25 – the star French defender played through a back injury down the stretch last season and gutted it out during the World Cup until he simply couldn’t play anymore. I believe the lip-readers had him saying “my back is gone” against Spain in the semifinal. The fracture won’t need surgery to repair but it will keep him out for an extended period to start the season. Internally, I’m sure the club have an idea of when he’ll return to action, but there’s little to go on in the public sphere. I’d say the earliest he might return is late October. It’s possible he won’t be back until December.
This may be glass-half-full copium, but if Arsenal can manage the early season without him, the time off might not be the worst thing if it means Saliba is fitter and fresher for the business end of the season. He’s a big miss, though. Arsenal have won 2.25-2.3 points per game with him and 1.6-1.8 points per game without him.
Gabriel Magalhaes, LCB, 28 – the Brazilian centerback has been the underappreciated, less-heralded part of the best CB duo in the world over the last two or three years. But he’s a force of his own. His emotions-on-the-sleeve roars stand in marked contrast with Saliba’s cool, calm, and collected aura. He’s a massive part of Arsenal’s set piece threat — since he joined the club in 2020, no defender has more Premier League goals.
He had an excellent season last year. Arsenal will need another brilliant year from him, particularly with Saliba missing a chunk of the start of the campaign. Perhaps he’ll finally get the widespread respect he deserves.
Cristhian Mosquera, RCB / RB, 22 – the SPANISH defender will start the season as the first-choice RCB, deputizing for the injured William Saliba. He had a solid first season in North London, particularly when you consider that he wasn’t playing regularly. Further, when he was on the pitch, it was often part of an unsettled defense in which he wasn’t the only backup playing. His quality and composure had many stunned that Arsenal bought him for just £13M before performance bonuses. He was occasionally caught out by opposing pace combined with misreading the play, which led to professional fouls and yellow cards. You’d expect that to improve with experience.
There’s no replacing William Saliba but Mosquera won’t be a liability in his spot. I’m quietly confident that he’ll rise to the occasion and continue to impress, actually. He’s a good player.
Riccardo Calafiori, LB / LCB, 24 – the maverick Italian fullback has a chance to be an X-factor, difference-maker player for Arsenal this season. His attacking instincts, particularly his movement, and his on-ball quality make him a matchup nightmare and unsettle opposing defenses. The attack looks significantly more dangerous with him on the pitch. The problem is he has struggled to stay fit and available at Arsenal, which has contributed to the entire left side of the attack lacking identity and output for two seasons running. Perhaps with Piero Hincapie not starting the season injured (along with Myles Lewis-Skelly looking terrible at LB last season pushing minutes onto Calafiori), Mikel Arteta will be better able to manage the Italian’s minutes and keep him healthier. Until he goes off on international duty and tweaks something.
We saw what Calafiori brings to the Arsenal attack in the Community Shield — he recycled a run, timed his secondary movement perfectly, darted between the defenders, and finished the chance. If he plays closer to a full season, the Gunners will score 5-10 more goals off his presence alone.
Piero Hincapie, LB / LCB, 24 – it’s easy to like Piero Hincapie. He quite good. He plays hard. And he’s got an impish, combative attitude that every team needs from at least of handful of their guys. He’s a better defender than Calafiori but offers a bit less on the attacking side of the ledger. Hincapie is more of an overlapping fullback compared to Calafiori’s instinct to drive inside. The Ecuadorian is quicker and slightly faster than his Italian teammate (35.8 km/h versus 34.5 top clocked speed).
Hopefully Hincapie and Calafiori function as more of a 1A and 1B tandem that keeps both fit and fresh. I think the primary pattern will be Hincapie coming on for Calafiori between the 60th and 70th minute. I don’t think Mikel Arteta will hesitate to flip that script and start Hincapie some, too.
And we’ve all seen his bum.
Jurrien Timber, RB / RCB, 25 – the Dutch right back will start the season on the shelf, recovering from a groin injury that required a minor surgery and kept him out of the World Cup. He was excellent when fit last season and is a complete player. He defends really well, has the technical ability to contribute to the attack, the physical ability to get up and down the pitch, and is sneaky good in the air.
Fortunately, it doesn’t look like he’s going to miss too much time. Mikel Arteta suggested that he may be back before the first international break, and if he isn’t, just afterwards. Expect him to reclaim first-choice status as soon as his fitness dictates, barring Ben White turning back the clock three or four years.
Ben White, RB, 28 – our favorite shithouser will start the campaign as the first-choice right back by default. At the moment, the man who has spent the better part of the last two seasons hurt (because he played through pain for the team for far longer than he should have at personal cost — full credit to him), is Arsenal’s only fit, senior, true right back, which is more than a bit unnerving. White has looked good in preseason, getting up and down the wing as he did before his injury issues. Compared to Jurrien Timber, White prefers to overlap rather than drive inside, which is probably a better fit with Bukayo Saka. If I’m choosing between a RB or Saka moving closer to the box and goal, I’m picking Saka every time.
Ben White is going to play a lot more minutes this season. Let’s hope he holds up physically.
It’s no secret that Arsenal are actively looking for reinforcement on the right side of the defense. Ezri Konsa seems the most likely addition, although the Gunners are trying to negotiate Aston Villa down from their £60M valuation. Even if William Saliba and Jurrien Timber were starting the season fit, you could argue that the Gunners are short a defender. Five fit senior defenders, which is what they’ll start the season with, isn’t enough. Be ready, Marli Salmon.