Leicester win proves we need to trust Arteta's decisions
Arsenal's win over Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday is proof that we have to trust Mikel Arteta and his decisions
By Adam Le Roux
Six changes for Leicester. ‘That’s it,’ they said, ‘we’ve given up on the top four and the Premier League,’ they cried. How wrong they were.
With no Martin Odegaard, no Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, no Bukayo Saka, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Arsenal would lack the dynamism that the troublesome trio produced in defeating Benfica on Thursday night, but that was far from the truth.
For a squad that supposedly lacks depth, the Gunners showed it in spades on Sunday afternoon, with Mikel Arteta’s rotation of his squad working wonders as they outshone the Foxes on a glorious day at the King Power.
After a last-gasp win such as that one in Athens, the Arsenal players would have been walking on cloud nine and this result will give them even more confidence that a respectable Premier League finish is still on the cards.
Arsenal still shine with six swaps in store
Ask any Arsenal fan an hour before kick-off whether they thought they stood a chance against Leicester and many would have said no, because the team sheet wasn’t one that inspired confidence.
With Odegaard, Aubameyang and Saka all missing, many were wondering where the creativity and impetus would come from, but the answer seemed to be from all over the pitch, as Arsenal harried and pressed their opponents into submission.
Both sides were in European action on Thursday, but you would have never have guessed that the visitors were, as they looked fresh and hungry throughout the 90 minutes, whereas the hosts looked leggy and tired after spending time on the road.
And that is where Arteta’s squad management has come up trumps, with the Spaniard knowing how much the demands of this hectic season will have taken on his side, and confident he can rely on some of the other members of his squad to take up the mantle.
And that’s exactly what they did against Leicester, with Willian, Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith Rowe all impressing on their recalls to the starting XI, although the latter had to be taken off injured before half-time.
This was a side that looked like they were going to fight tooth and nail for the victory - not just against Leicester, but in every match for the rest of the season, with the Gunners not yet giving up hope on a top-four finish.
Gunners showed guile after slow start
The doom mongers would have been out in full force after five minutes at the King Power, as Youri Tielemans carried the ball the best part of half the pitch before burying the ball past Bernd Leno to give the hosts the lead.
And for the first half hour you could have been forgiven for thinking that Arteta and Arsenal had thrown in the towel on the Premier League season, with Leicester having the better of the chances.
But once the Gunners started to click there was no stopping them, with David Luiz finding space from a set-piece to head home to level the scores, with the Brazilian proving his worth at both ends of the field.
Lacazette levelled from the spot seconds before the break, before Nicolas Pepe added another after some more fantastic Arsenal play, leaving Arsenal to wallow in two excellent results in the space of three days.
Everyone seemed to be playing with confidence, with the ball flowing from left to right and back to front within a blink of an eye, as even with so many changes the Gunners produced one of their best performances of the season.
This was a far cry from the team that went down 1-0 to the Foxes at the Emirates earlier in the season, this was a side that was playing with vigour and verve and va va voom and were an absolute joy to watch.
Things were that good that we even saw a glimpse of what Willian can produce, with the Brazilian finally starting to look at home since his summer move from Chelsea.
The former Blues man’s free-kick set up Luiz for the equaliser, before he teed up Pepe for the easiest of goals for Arsenal’s third as he slipped the ball past Kaspar Schmeichel for the Ivorian.
This was a masterstroke from Arteta, and proof that Arsenal are still fighting on all fronts heading into the business end of the season.
Arteta aims to fight fatigue
There isn’t a club in the country right now which isn’t feeling the effects of this nons-top footballing season, with games coming thick and fast throughout the campaign.
Arsenal are no exception to this, with the Foxes clash being their 14th competitive match since the turn of the year, that’s 14 matches in 59 days, which is a lot.
But Arteta is a man who knows how to handle his squad, meaning that the Gunners have lost just three of those games in 2021, and have firmly put their record-breaking poor start to the season behind them.
This is a time when you have to look after every member of the squad, as the Spaniard is well aware of, with teenage sensation Saka given some time off this weekend.
“On Thursday night at some stages in the game we were thinking about that [fatigue], because you can see it,” the Arsenal boss said.
“It is not only him, there are a lot of players who have played so many minutes, you could see the Benfica players and you could sense the fatigue and the changes they had to do straight away.
“If we have to rest players, we have to rest them, because we have to keep them fit as much as possible but as well you have to develop that mental toughness that you need when you are in competitions you want to win.”
As we go further and further into the season and Arsenal want to continue to compete on all fronts, this squad management will be crucial, and the victory over Leicester has proved that all members of this squad have the quality needed to get the results they crave.
Photo credit: Getty Images
