​Mikel Arteta’s Faith In Youth Is Paying Off For Arsenal

Arsenal went to the top of the Premier League this weekend with a win over North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Their good start to the season might have been helped by a favorable fixture list, but it was also achieved with the second youngest team in the Premier League.

A recent post by CIES Football Observatory shows that the average age of Arsenal’s team on the pitch up until the international break was just 24.43 years.

That’s fractionally older than the youngest Premier League side, Southampton, who had an average age of 24.40 years, due partly to their summer signings of players like the 18-year-old Romeo Lavia and 20-year-old Armel Bella-Kotchap, who have been key for the Saints so far this season.

Arsenal’s average age is also far younger than the other top teams. Chelsea have an average age of 27.83, the third-oldest in the league, and both Liverpool and Manchester City have an average age of over 27.

The Gunners also gave the fewest minutes to players over 26 years old, with players aged 26-29 making up 14.1% of minutes this season, and over-30s making just 1.4% of minutes for Arsenal.

That experience is kept in the middle of the pitch, with relative veterans Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka surrounded by younger teammates.

After taking charge of Arsenal at the end of 2019, Mikel Arteta has been rebuilding the side, moving on older players like Willian, David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and signing younger players like Ben White and Fabio Viera.

Such a strategy takes time to pay off; Arsenal started last season poorly, and the transfer fee paid for Ben White in particular was ridiculed by fans of other clubs. Arsenal’s defense is still prone to mistakes, like giving away a cheap penalty for Tottenham to score from on Saturday, but with the back-four all aged 25 or under, and all relatively new to the club, they will likely get tighter as time goes on.

At the other end of the pitch, Arsenal looked stale when Arteta took over, but the revamped forward line of Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka behind summer signing Gabriel Jesus is now one of the most exciting in the league.

Arsenal’s players look hungry for success and have an age profile that suggests the same squad can be kept together for several seasons.

With Liverpool and Chelsea getting off to a slow start, it is possible that Arsenal could be Manchester City’s main challengers this season, although the Gunners’ lack of squad depth could see them struggle if they pick up some injuries.

When Arteta brought on 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri against Brentford, making him the youngest ever Premier League player, Nwareri was part of a relatively young substitutes’ bench; all five substitutes who came on were 23 or younger, with Rob Holding the only outfield player on the bench who was older than 23.

But looking further ahead, Arsenal’s squad looks well-positioned for future seasons with just a couple of additions rather than a major rebuild.

Chelsea and Liverpool on the other hand have more key players the wrong side of thirty years old. Chelsea so far this season have given more minutes to players over 30 than any other team in the league and spent around $50 million on players over 30 this summer. Graham Potter does look to be integrating younger players like Wesley Fofana and Armando Broja into the squad though, so Chelsea’s overall age will likely come down as the season goes on.

Arsenal so far this season do look like they could compete toward the top of the league again, and their young squad will likely only get better when players start hitting their peak over the next few years. It’s no wonder Arsenal fans are thinking they’re at the start of something special.