Mikel Arteta worked with what he had last season to free up Declan Rice in the Arsenal midfield after the turn of the year.
Having only started six games alongside Jorginho in the first half of the campaign, that amount almost doubled in 2024 as they both sat behind Martin Odegaard with increasing regularity. That afforded Rice more freedom, akin to his role at West Ham United.
But with Mohamed Elneny leaving later this month and Thomas Partey seemingly on the way out, too, Arteta cannot spend a second straight season relying solely on the same midfield three. Injuries last term prepared Arsenal for life without Elneny and Partey; showing greater depth is necessary beyond Rice and Jorginho.
Conor Gallagher knows them well after playing alongside them both in midfield for the club and country. He and Jorginho played 18 times together during the first half of the 2022/23 season before Arsenal signed the Italy international from Chelsea.
Then there is Gallagher and Rice spending their summer together in Germany at the European Championship this year. The Chelsea man has replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold in England’s first two matches to bring better balance in the middle of the pitch. Those performances could yet translate into a starting berth alongside Rice for the final group game against Slovenia. That would see them line up together from the off for the first time since a March friendly against Brazil.
Injecting energy into the midfield is the minimum that Gallagher adds to a game, which would be a welcome addition at Arsenal when sharing the pitch with Jorginho. The defensive midfielder struggles without that athleticism around him, as evidenced when playing for Italy against Spain, and Gallagher brings that in abundance. But it also provides the platform to eventually move on from Jorginho and move forward with a more dynamic midfield behind Odegaard.
