Last season, Arsenal’s squad depth, or lack thereof, was tested to the absolute limit. Really, it was amazing that this team got as far as they did.

The Gunners were not a million miles away from the title and reached the Champions League semi-finals.

That all happened without a number of key players. Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel all missed large chunks of the campaign with serious hamstring problems.

Skipper Martin Odegaard also missed a lot of the early exchanges through an ankle injury, a problem that subsequently dampened his form for much of 2024/25.

So, with Andrea Berta at the helm for his first summer window, the message was loud and clear; add depth.

Add depth they did, in abundance too. The likes of Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres have improved numbers in forward areas. At the back, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie have been added to the collection.

Yet, all of that means that competition for places is now intense. Some of the club’s finest young talents are struggling for game time.

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The most notable example is undoubtedly Aaron Ramsdale. The England international looked like the Gunners’ number one for the next decade but Arteta was dissatisfied and swooped for David Raya, now one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

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In the current side, a number of players are suffering from similar treatment. Jurrien Timber’s emergence as one of the Premier League’s finest right-backs means that Ben White is now reduced to a regular role among the subs.

Before then, Kai Havertz’s leading role as the striker meant Gabriel Jesus had become a fringe player.

In midfield, the arrivals of Eze and Madueke has also dampened Ethan Nwaneri’s game time.

When Saka was out, it was Madueke who deputised. With Odegaard now out, it’s Eze who is deputising. Nwaneri’s moment will no doubt come but he’ll have to be patient to get regular opportunities again.

Nwaneri’s fellow attacker in the shape of Gabriel Martinelli has also been hit with reduced starts so far in 2025/26.

The positive is that it has inspired improved performances. Martinelli has only started four games in all competitions but has scored three times and registered an assist.

Yet, for one of Hale End’s finest, he’s perhaps been hit the hardest this season.

Hale Ender is being given the Smith Rowe treatment at Arsenal

When Arteta first became Arsenal manager he relied on two players to carry his project forward.

One of them was Bukayo Saka, still the poster boy of this project, and Emile Smith Rowe, who appeared for Fulham in their 1-0 defeat to the Gunners on Saturday.

For Smith Rowe, his exit in the summer of 2024 was a sad one. He is an Arsenal boy, he loves the club, but he simply couldn’t re-find his form or reclaim his place in the team after a succession of injury problems.

This was a player who once scored ten goals in one Premier League campaign. That came back in 2021/22 and since then it has been a struggle. During his final year with the club, he featured in the matchday squad for a league fixture on 31 occasions but only started three times and came off the bench on ten occasions.

Smith Rowe was fit for much of the season but simply didn’t get his opportunity; instead he was kept out by Odegaard and Co.

The same now appears to be happening to a few players. Nwaneri is one of them but the other is Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Now, it must be stated that Lewis-Skelly is still only 19 years of age. He’s an England regular and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award last season. The teenager has the world at his feet and will no doubt become a regular under Arteta again.

However, at the moment, there are certainly echoes of the Smith Rowe situation. A sparkling and dazzling Hale Ender who saved Arteta’s lack of depth last season, the youngster is now paying the price for an increased squad size and the form of his teammates.

Liam Delap

Ipswich

Dean Huijsen

Bournemouth

Milos Kerkez

Bournemouth

Myles Lewis-Skelly

Arsenal

Ethan Nwaneri

Arsenal

Morgan Rogers

Aston Villa

Hailed as a “future captain” by club insider Hand of Arsenal, Lewis-Skelly’s potential is enormous but it is slightly in danger of being wasted, certainly this term.

He has been in the squad for all eight Premier League matchdays but is yet to start, has come off the bench five times and has only featured for 83 minutes.

So, why is that? Well, Riccardo Calafiori – who spent much of last campaign on the treatment table – has enjoyed a finer time of it with regards to fitness.

Calafiori hasn’t picked up a single injury yet and has been an ever-present member of the starting XI in the league. He’s been magnificent, too.

It was the Italian who scored the winning goal against Manchester United on the opening week and it was the defender who also picked up two assists a game later against Leeds.

The full-back then had a remarkable finish ruled out against Fulham on Saturday, cruelly denied a scintillating goal courtesy of the offside flag.

Calafiori was everywhere on Saturday, and it gave us all the evidence needed to demonstrate why Lewis-Skelly isn’t starting. His fellow full-back has been a man possessed this season and without an injury, isn’t budging from that position anytime soon.

FFC’s stat of the day: No player has attempted more shots for Arsenal in the Premier League this season than Calafiori. He is level with Gyokeres on 16.

So, how can Lewis-Skelly get more minutes? Well, like Smith Rowe, he must be wondering what on earth he needs to do. With Hincapie also signed and due to return from injury imminently, it surely only dampens the prospect of Arsenal’s Hale End prodigy getting playing time even more.

A midfielder by trade, a spot may well open up there but considering Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi have locked down those two positions, there isn’t a huge amount of hope that he’ll get chances there in 2025/26.

For a player who is the “future of Arsenal and English football” in the words of scout Jacek Kulig, it has been sad to see Lewis-Skelly’s decline in minutes. It is similar to Smith Rowe, but he has the talent, pedigree and fitness levels to ensure he doesn’t leave the club as early as his fellow Hale Ender.