Gunners have no choice but to learn from painful lessons
When Arsenal thrashed Brighton at the Amex at the start of this month, they looked like a team on the cusp of greatness. Less than two weeks later and a season of huge promise is in danger of crumbling.
It has been a chastening 10 days for Mikel Arteta and his squad. As he digested his team’s elimination from the Champions League in the bowels of the futuristic Allianz Arena, Arteta (below right) spoke about how “fine margins” had ultimately separated his young, inexperienced squad from Bayern Munich’s battlehardened band of brothers.
The manner of the aggregate defeat was painful. They were more than a match for Bayern over a two-legged tie in which neither side was ever fully in control. But whereas Bayern made Arsenal work for their two goals, the Gunners gifted the Bavarians their three. It was totally uncharacteristic from a team that has looked near impenetrable in the Premier League.
“In the first leg we conceded two very poor goals. That has a big effect on the tie,” Arteta conceded. “It was a game where you could see an error, or an individual magic moment, was going to decide the tie. The margins are so small. We didn’t defend our box well enough in that action [Joshua Kimmich’s winner].”
The Champions League was always likely to be a learning curve, given the vast majority of the squad were tackling the competition for the very first time.
Bukayo Saka was eight when Thomas Müller was making his Champions League debut 15 years ago. This is by no means a vintage Bayern side, but like Real Madrid, they have vital knockout stage nous.
It will take years for Arsenal to develop such wisdom. Arteta pointed out that other clubs have taken “seven, eight or 10 years” to reach that maturity stage, indirectly referencing his former club Manchester City, who eventually lifted the trophy at the 12th time of asking last year.
And not even that success could prevent them from falling short against Real Madrid, a.k.a. Inevitable FC.
It was an undeniably flat finish, but Arsenal have enjoyed an encouraging Champions League campaign after seven years away. They topped their group, won a penalty shootout and worried Bayern enough that by the end of the second leg, they had a back six guarding Manuel Neuer’s goal. That being said, there are lessons that Arteta and his squad can heed ahead of next season.
COMPROMISE PRINCIPLES
For one, they can be more adaptable. Arteta aimed a not-sosubtle dig at Thomas Tuchel when he said that Bayern played in a manner that “they never normally do”, the inference being that they sat back and played on the counter. It was true to an extent. Bayern have averaged 62 per cent possession in the Bundesliga, but had 48 per cent of the ball against Arsenal in the Allianz and only 41 per cent at the Emirates. But the Germans still had more shots on target over 180 minutes (with seven to Arsenal’s five) and registered a far higher combined xG (3.41 to Arsenal’s 1.54). The magic of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry is lacking from this iteration, but Bayern still pack a punch going forward. Perhaps that’s what Arsenal need to do to navigate unique challenges. They had 27 minutes plus added time to find an equaliser and force the contest into extra time and yet managed to create just one chance when Martin Odegaard forced a save from Neuer in the 87th minute. In that period, Bayern had seven attempts with
Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala missing big chances.
Arsenal stuck to trying to work the ball through the lines, but found Bayern’s defence almost impossible to pass. They need to find other ways to win when Plan A is being thwarted. Maybe that’s a limitation of playing centre-backs in the fullback areas; not enough high-quality crosses are pumped into the box.
UPGRADE STRIKER
There was a lack of precision in promising positions. Havertz ghosted into space inside Bayern’s box but cut the ball back to Matthijs de Ligt, Gabriel Martinelli shot tamely straight at Neuer from the middle of the penalty area, and Saka hit the first man with a corner with the final kick of the game. Arsenal have been in prolific goalscoring form since the turn of the year, but the absence of a true No 9 has been painfully apparent over the past three matches. Havertz has been excellent, but they need an alternative. Gabriel Jesus (far left) helped to raise Arsenal’s ceiling but has now reached his. A consistent, top-level finisher could make a crucial difference in tight contests.
ROTATE SQUAD MORE
They also looked dead on their feet. Arsenal fans were enthused when they saw both Odegaard and Saka’s names on the team sheet considering both were rated as doubts. Unsurprisingly, neither looked fully fit, and they weren’t the only ones to appear jaded.
That could be a by-product of Arteta’s over-reliance on certain individuals. There is a core of nine players who start every week, with rotation only usually taking place at left-back and in central midfield or up front, depending on where Kai Havertz is utilised.
Saka’s dependability, in particular, is renowned. The 22-year-old has already clocked up 225 first-team appearances for Arsenal, featuring in 138 of their 146 Premier League matches since the start of 202021. It is little wonder that he looks exhausted; it’s a minor miracle that he hasn’t succumbed to injury more often. It hints at Arteta’s lack of trust in his squad players, many of whom are only called upon to aid a salvage mission. Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira have made six league starts between them this season.
Although it will naturally be a source of huge disappointment if Arsenal don’t go on to win anything this season, it still feels as though this group is at the start of an exciting new cycle, yet to reach their peak. The journey is just beginning. The past 10 days have merely shown how much further there is still left to go.