WITH Mikel Arteta’s arrival, Arsenal now boast both the youngest squad and manager in the Premier League.
The 37-year-old slots in below fellow former midfielder Frank Lampard as the division’s most youthful coach by a margin of four years.
And the Gunners are clearly prepared to play the long game with an average squad age of just 25.1 years this season.
Such a feat, comfortably below second-place Wolves’ average of 25.7 years old, comes despite the particularly experienced spine of the Emirates side.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 30, David Luiz, 32, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 31, and Bernd Leno, 27, are the four players with the most starts in the league in 2019/20.
The figure therefore shows how the likes of Joe Willock, 20, Bukayo Saka, 18, and Gabriel Martinelli, 18, are being used to supplement the squad.
That is before first-team regulars Matteo Guendouzi, 20, Lucas Torreira, 23, and Nicolas Pepe, 24, are thrown into the mix.
Amid the doom and gloom in North London, Arsenal fans can find optimism that this side will develop together.
The likes of Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe have shown glimpses of quality and the club are unlikely to sign many expensive mega stars to replace them.
Of course, youth brings inexperience from both the pitch and dugout, making it a difficult prospect for Arteta to immediately lift his side into the top-four race from 11th position.
Pessimists could also point to the lack of academy prospects coming through at Manchester City during his time alongside Pep Guardiola.
But, with a short-term fix out of the question for an Arsenal side still finding its way in the post-Wenger years, many will argue youth is their best hope.
