Arsenal is going in a different direction than they were more than two decades ago. If in 2005, Arsene Wenger's team was criticized for playing with a squad without any English players, now Mikel Arteta is building a team with a prominent domestic framework.
Signing Ezri Konsa for £55 million could increase the number of Arsenal players who have participated in the 2026 World Cup in the England national team to five. Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke are the remaining names. Arsenal also owns Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly and young talents Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman and Marli Salmon.
For Konsa, Eze, Madueke, Rice and White alone, Arsenal has spent more than 300 million pounds. This is clearly a large investment for the group of English players, but Arteta is not only interested in expertise.
One of the words Arteta mentioned most often is "connection". He wants to create a close connection between players, coaching staff, clubs and fans. Owning a group of English players, most of whom have grown up in London, makes this process more favorable.
The relationship between the players also reflects that. Rice and Saka once praised Madueke before Arsenal decided to recruit him from Chelsea. Konsa has a close relationship with Saka and received a warm welcome from Madueke when joining the team. Eze also stayed after the training session to welcome his long-time friend.
Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri have known each other since they were 6 years old, while Dowman and Salmon also have close relationships. Such connections help Arsenal's dressing room form a group of players who are close beyond the scope of the pitch.
This also creates a closer bond with fans. Saka, Rice or Eze are all beloved English players, while many of them come from London. For Arsenal fans, the image of a group of local players wearing the same team jersey has its own appeal.
Arteta once gave many good words to The Gunners' dressing room. He called this the best team he had ever worked with and even questioned whether the players were "too kind" to each other.
Of course, Arsenal's cohesion does not only come from the group of English players. Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz have very close relationships, while groups of Spanish and South American players also create their own connections in the team.
However, the group of English players is still the core force and Arsenal continues to strengthen this force through the transfer market. This is also not the first time the "Gunners" have pursued this strategy. In 2012, Wenger tried to build a framework with Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Carl Jenkinson.
The difference lies in the scale and investment level. Arteta is building a more English-style Arsenal, but the goal is not just to meet the requirements for force or identity. He wants to create a team with strong enough cohesion to compete for major titles together.
