Former Arsenal player Fabrice Muamba is worried that The Gunners don’t realistically have the squad depth to compete for the Premier League title.
Arsenal is currently third on the log after 15 games, six points behind table toppers Liverpool who have a game in hand.
With champions Manchester City struggling this season as they find themselves down in fourth spot - two points behind Arsenal - the London club will be wary of any slip-ups.
That had been especially difficult without the services of skipper Martin Odegaard who picked up an ankle injury during the international break in September, which ruled out the midfielder for seven weeks.
Then again over the weekend, the 25-year-old appeared to be struggling with his ankle again in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Fulham before being subbed in the 79th minute.
Odegaard blow
“I’ve been impressed with Arsenal this season, but it’s been tough for them because they’ve been missing Martin Odegaard through injury for a lot of it,” ex-Arsenal ace Muamba told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview.
“He’s a big player for them so missing him has been a big blow.”
“My worry with Arsenal is that you have to replace like-for-like and I’m not sure they have that strength in depth.
“If you look at Liverpool and Manchester City’s it’s usually a like-for-like replacement, which is what you need to compete every week in the Premier League."
Arsenal also have the small matter of producing results in the Uefa Champions League, with their next match a clash against Monaco at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening. Despite Monaco being only one spot behind Arsenal in the new format table, the top football betting sites are still placing the gunners as the heavy favourite.
Despite Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta doing what he could with the squad available to him, it was still a tough job believed Muamba.
“I think Mikel has brought in brilliant guys, but hasn’t brought in guys that were able to replace someone like Odegaard. And when that happens you lose a little bit of quality.
“It’s hard to find players like the [Bukayo] Saka’s of this world, but you need someone who can have a similar impact on games.
“But that’s a huge issue for everybody, not just Arsenal. If you want to compete for the Premier League title you need to have your star players fit, those players that can make a real impact.
“You can’t afford to take your foot off the gas in the Premier League because the competition is fierce – and now there’s so many good teams pushing at the top end of the table. You only have to look at how Aston Villa and Brighton have performed this season, these teams are getting better. The standard of the Premier League is getting better.”
Lucky to be alive
Muamba, now aged 36, played just one match for Arsenal after coming through their youth academy before a move to Birmingham City.
Having played 167 times in the Premier League with the majority of those caps coming with Bolton Wanderers, Muamba’s career was tragically cut short at the age of 23 when he suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup match between Bolton and Tottenham in March 2012.
Though his heart stopped for 78 minutes, he was revived but was forced to quickly retire from professional football afterwards. This was following medical advice and spending nearly a month in hospital.