With Arsenal’s new signings representing a significant investment in the summer market, the question now is whether they’ll have squad space to register everyone.
Let’s start by looking at where Arsenal began the summer, following the departures of players out of contract, the mutual termination of Takehiro Tomiyasu’s deal, and the return/exit of a few loanees. This was Arsenal’s starting point:
- Calafiori, Riccardo
- Havertz, Kai
- Hein, Karl*
- Jesus, Gabriel
- Kiwior, Jakub
- Magalhães, Gabriel
- Martinelli, Gabriel*
- Merino, Mikel
- Nelson, Reiss*
- Odegaard, Martin
- Raya, David*
- Rice, Declan*
- Saka, Bukayo*
- Saliba, William*
- Sambi Lokonga, Albert
- Timber, Jurrien
- Trossard, Leandro
- Vieira, Fabio
- White, Benjamin*
- Zinchenko, Oleksandr
*Homegrown
The likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri remain too young to need including on the senior squad list. In the Premier League, they can be named on the unlimited u21 list. In UEFA competitions, they can be included on “List B”, which is the u21 list equivalent.
So Arsenal had 12 non-homegrown players from a maximum of 17 to kick things off, plus another eight homegrown players to bring the total squad size to 20.
Arsenal’s new signings
Since then, the Gunners have added Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, and Martin Zubimendi, all three of whom are non-homegrown signings too old to feature on the u21 list. Arsenal are therefore just two signings away from the limit.
Unfortunately, despite both players featuring in the English youth system, neither Noni Madueke nor Viktor Gyokeres qualify as homegrown. Madueke left Tottenham Hotspur’s academy slightly too early, and Gyokeres joined Brighton’s slightly too late.
Assuming Arsenal sign both players, that would take the club to non-homegrown capacity.
Arsenal’s other two summer targets have more favourable situations. Eberechi Eze is homegrown, and Cristhian Mosquera still counts as an u21 player for the purposes of the Premier League’s squad registration rules.
But UEFA’s rules are different. Mosquera can’t be included on the u21 list as he would have been at the club for less than two years, so he’d have to be named as a senior player.
As a result, if Arsenal want to sign Madueke, Gyokeres, and Mosquera (whatever happens with Eze), then they need to sell one non-homegrown senior player to include everyone in the Champions League squad.
Arsenal would then also need to sell another player (regardless of homegrown status) to include Eze, as they’d otherwise have 26 players for a 25-player squad.
UEFA also have an additional restriction around homegrown players, only allowing a maximum of four players who are homegrown but gained that homegrown status at another club.
Declan Rice got his homegrown status at West Ham, Ben White at Brighton, and David Raya at Blackburn Rovers, but Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli, and Karl Hein all got theirs at Arsenal.
So Arsenal still have one spare spot to include Eze under that requirement, with only three “association-trained” players at the club right now.
In summary, Arsenal are in a good position. If the Gunners complete the three deals they’ve got lined up this week, they’ll need to make one sale or loan, and one more if they want to sign Eze. But that doesn’t put the club under significant pressure with plenty of the window remaining.