By Sports Correspondent

At the Emirates on Sunday, Arsenal’s 3–0 dismantling of Nottingham Forest was less about the scoreline and more about the statement it carried. A year ago, injuries to key men like Martin Ødegaard, William Saliba or Bukayo Saka might have derailed their rhythm. This season, Mikel Arteta’s side looks different. The Gunners now carry the one commodity that defines champions: genuine squad depth.

DEPTH TURNS CRISIS INTO COMFORT
Ødegaard’s scare against Forest was the perfect case study. Last season, his absence would have been painted as a catastrophe. Now, even on the day, Arsenal barely flinched. Declan Rice was rested for long spells. Martinelli and Havertz started from the bench. Saka and Saliba were missing altogether. Yet Arsenal rolled on, controlling midfield, breaking through Forest with ease, and showing no hint of panic.

Arteta had made it his mission in the transfer window to build two players for every position, a deliberate answer to the twin demands of the Premier League and Champions League calendars. With games every three days until February, rotation is no longer a luxury but a survival mechanism. Against Forest, the squad depth narrative that once dogged Arsenal was rewritten convincingly.

NEW HEROES EMERGING
Summer signing Viktor Gyökeres once again offered answers to Arsenal’s long-running striker question. He scored for the third consecutive game and nearly added a second when he rattled the post after a clever interchange with Ezequiel Medina. The understanding between the two is still forming, but the signs are promising. Arsenal fans who for years complained about profligacy up front are starting to see a more ruthless edge.

Meanwhile, Noni Madueke, whose signing was once derided as overpriced, delivered his best performance yet in an Arsenal shirt. Direct, aggressive, and fearless, he tormented Forest’s defence throughout. A petition against his signing trended just two months ago, but today he looks like a man reborn, bringing the same form he showed for England in midweek onto the Premier League stage.

MANAGING SUCCESS AND EGOS
Yet with depth comes a new challenge: keeping players happy. Lewis-Skelly, a breakout star last season, has barely featured this term. Arteta must now manage not just tactics, but psychology. Great managers like Sir Alex Ferguson were masters at convincing players of their roles across a season, rotating without fracturing morale. Arteta, obsessed with man management detail, faces his sternest test yet in keeping his enlarged squad united, hungry, and believing.

A REAL TITLE RACE CONTENDER
Arsenal’s evolution is clear. Injuries no longer spell disaster. Bench options now tilt games instead of limiting them. And while Liverpool remain the bookmakers’ favourites, the Gunners’ ability to rotate without dropping levels may prove the decisive factor in the title race.

The ghosts of recent seasons, where Arsenal’s lack of depth saw them stumble in the spring, may finally be banished. The challenge now is not whether Arsenal can compete, but whether they can shed the tag of perennial runners-up and take the final step to glory.

On this evidence, and with the Emirates crowd behind them, the Gunners’ evolution feels real. If they fall short this year, it will not be because of squad depth.