Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech thinks the Gunners' squad depth could finally help them end their Premier League title drought this season.
Arsene Wenger brought in three new players this summer and has been able to rotate his squad freely in different competitions so far. And Cech thinks that will help Arsenal go one better than last season, when they suffered a string of injuries in October and November that stretched the squad for several months. They ended up finishing second in the Premier League after a slump in the spring.
"When we were unlucky with long-term injuries last season, we had to use the same players in so many games and you lack energy in certain parts of the season," Cech told the Arsenal website. "We dropped points because we couldn't rotate.
"This season we have strength in depth, you could see in the Champions League and domestic cup [games] and for the Premier League we keep using different players or can use the same players.
"The manager has this choice and I think we are benefitting so far. Everybody looks fit and ready to go game-by-game."
The 34-year-old Cech has only been used in the Premier League so far, with David Ospina in goal for Champions League games and third-choice keeper Emiliano Martinez used in the EFL Cup. Wenger has rested most of his first-choice players for the team's two EFL Cup games so far, while he also rotated heavily for the two Champions League games against Ludogorets.
He now has added options as well after Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud returned from injuries.
And that's why Cech thinks the Gunners are better equipped to last the entire season this time around.
"Last season everybody was talking about how far we can go, where we can go and we knew that we had a lot of qualities, that's why we finished in the best position Arsenal had finished in a long time," he said. "But we missed a little bit to win the title, so this season we go step-by-step, we try to improve and then I think we are on the right way.
"I think we are as strong as anybody else in the league. The league is very competitive but I think we are one of the teams who has all the qualities to compete for the title and we know that."