Mikel Arteta is on a high right now. The Arsenal boss just masterminded a 3-0 knockout win over Real Madrid, all but ensuring a ticket to the Champions League semi-finals — and he’s seemingly determined not to give Liverpool an easy ride to the Premier League finish line either.
The most realistic shot at glory now surely lies in Europe, where Arsenal is on the verge of eliminating a true stalwart of the competition. Knocking out Real Madrid means knocking out the serial winner, although on the balance of performances this season, the Gunners could still expect sterner tests from PSG and Barcelona.
Arteta could be forgiven for doubling down on the Champions League, given that he is 11 points behind Arne Slot’s Liverpool with seven games to go. His sole piece of silverware to date is an FA Cup in his debut season at the Emirates, and he would dearly love to claim a prize that proves Arsenal’s renewed status at the top end of the game.
And ahead of the first leg against Real Madrid, Arteta arguably did allow the Champions League to guide his selection. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey all started from the bench, and Arsenal ultimately suffered a damaging 1-1 draw against Everton.
As it happens, Liverpool then went on to lose to Fulham, just its second defeat of the season. An Arsenal win would have closed the gap to a slightly less daunting nine points, with the two teams still to meet, but the Gunners failed to capitalize.
With another league game looming at the weekend, Arteta insists that he will not be saving key players for the Champions League. He has told reporters that any changes are just normal rotation:
“Just normality”, Arteta claimed, when asked if he would rest anybody against Brentford before the second leg against Real Madrid. “This is our context — play every three days and playing in different competitions on the biggest stages.
“Playing in Europe then coming back and facing a different challenge in the Premier League. If you want to become a team that has the capacity to win in any of those then you have to do it every three days, regardless of the scenario.”
(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
That’s all well and good, but Arteta won’t get away with pretending that the team against Everton was “normality”. This was only the second league game of the season where Odegaard was fit but did not start.
There is no escaping that if the margins start to narrow at the top of the Premier League, Arteta will be left kicking himself for the team he put out last weekend against the Toffees. That’s unless Arsenal really does go all the way in the Champions League, of course, in which case he will be vindicated.
But taking the manager at his word, the Gunners will no longer be fielding weakened teams in the league to try and support the European campaign. If true, that’s a shame for Liverpool — more rotation akin to what happened at Everton would effectively have gift-wrapped the title, with Arsenal requiring near-perfection in the last seven games to even make Slot sweat.
However, Liverpool has earned its significant leeway at the top of the league, and will be confident of seeing it out from here without relying on more cheaply dropped Arsenal points. While he may deny it, Arteta’s main focus should now be on the Champions League, with the Premier League all but over regardless of the teams he picks.
