Arsenal has performed admirably this season, which is a testament to both the team and the manager, who has been given the freedom to bring his vision to the football team.
But as we’ve seen this past week, Mikel Arteta still has a lot to learn if he wants to lead the Gunners to the next level and bring trophy after trophy to the Emirates Stadium.
Wednesday night’s Champions League exit for Arsenal was inevitable, therefore, Joshua Kimmich’s goal to guarantee Bayern Munich’s place in the final four came as no surprise.
Sadly, there was no Plan B in place when Arsenal’s Plan A failed in the middle of the week.
This season, Arteta has stuck to his starting lineup, which is commendable, but it means that the team lacks players who can change the game when they come off the bench.
Eddie Nketiah is one such case. Despite his impressive 27 Premier League appearances for Arsenal this season, a closer look at his playing time reveals a different picture.
Only three times this season has the young forward played all ninety minutes in the top division; since the year’s beginning, the most minutes he has played in a single game is twenty-four.
On the off chance that he can help Arsenal win the game, the 24-year-old is still being selected to start on the bench.
This season, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe have also been underutilized, and it shows when they do make an appearance. At other clubs, this has happened before as well.
The same issues plagued Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who led Bayern to victory on Wednesday.
He stuck with a particular group of guys, and as the seasons went on, everything fell apart.
If Arteta’s team is to advance, he must master the strategy of rotation, given how packed a Premier League team’s schedule is right now.
At Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has achieved this with players like Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb, who can seamlessly and, when needed, fit into the first team.
Whether or not Arteta can be the man to bring happiness back to North London will depend on how he handles the setback he experienced this past week.