Published: 22:13, 1 October 2025 | Updated: 22:13, 1 October 2025

The strength in depth that Arsenal have attained after their £250million summer spending spree has been widely advanced as a reason why this will be the season they will smash through the glass ceiling they have been hammering against in vain for the past few years.

But a deep squad and the sight of a bench groaning under the weight of superstar players such as Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze only counts for something if the replacements have the talent and the experience to get the job done.

There were times against Olympiacos on Wednesday night when Arsenal trod a fine line between those two outcomes. They should have won this Champions League tie at a canter but an epidemic of missed chances meant that they were sweating on a slender lead almost until the bitter end.

Nervously, wracked with tension, clinging on to a 1-0 lead, their fans yelling out their displeasure, Arsenal crawled over the line to add a second victory to their 2-0 win over Athletic Club in...