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Mikel Arteta discussed the depth he has available in the midfield unit. Arsenal are defending the Premier League crown for the first time since 2004, and a £75 million acquisition in the middle of the park puts the team in a much better position to hold onto their title. Bruno Guimaraes signed from Newcastle United in August, and there were signs from his league debut for the Gunners against Aston Villa that he can make an impact with his progressive passing. Myles Lewis-Skelly started a second game in a row in the engine room, building upon his excellent form from the final month of the 2025/26 season, and Declan Rice remains the standard-bearer. ·‘You cannot finish doing the combinations’ With Kai Havertz fit, Mikel Merino has managed to enjoy more minutes in a deeper midfield role, replacing Martin Odegaard to help the team get over the line at Villa Park on Monday evening. Arteta has hardly had to call upon Martin Zubimendi, who was almost ever-present in his debut campaign after signing from Real Sociedad. There should be a much more sustainable allocation of playing time across the squad in the midfield, and Arteta appreciates having the options to tinker. Rotation and squad depth “That [ability to rotate] was really useful, and we discussed that game by game and then on matchday as well in relation to what the needs of the team or the moment requires to bring different kind of profiles to help us to win football matches, and Monday, that's what I said, that it was a squad victory because everybody contributed and very specific qualities helped us to win the game at the end. “There are multiple [possible partnerships.] I started to do combinations and you cannot finish doing them and that's the beauty of it. They complement each other and they all have the mindset to be able to play and occupy different spaces throughout the game. That's what we need from our midfield.”