Mikel Arteta previously hinted that he has yet to master the art of rotation after assembling one of these armoryThe strongest squad ever. The scare Mansfield Town gave the Gunners in their FA Cup fifth round clash at the One Call Stadium on Saturday shows it is a lesson he continues to learn.
Ultimately, Arsenal remain in search of an unprecedented quadruple after a 2-1 win earned through substitutes Eberechi EzeA brilliant strike in the 66th minute, which was hit high above the roof of the net.
He started two 16-year-olds — Marley Salmon And max doumanJoe became Arsenal’s youngest-ever FA Cup starter at the age of 16 years and 66 days – and it was their 35th win in all competitions, already their highest total under Arteta, with three months still left in the season.
Arsenal may have 19 games left if they go all the way at home and away, and the suspicion remains that Arteta will need to make better use of his squad if they are to stay on course.
Arteta has been criticized for overusing key players and so the wholesale change was an understandable response given the short turnaround between Wednesday night’s win at Brighton and Saturday’s visit of League One opposition. But those players who were drafted in will have to adjust to a testing pitch against unfamiliar opposition, a point exacerbated by Arteta’s decision to switch to a back three for the first time in 246 matches.
He last started with a back three in August 2021 in a 5-0 loss Manchester City. Arsenal looked unbalanced and disjointed early on leandro trossardArteta was forced to make a substitution in the 38th minute due to injury.
he brought the defender piero hincapieremoved the back three and noni maduke Scored the first goal three minutes later, his 100th goal of the season in all competitions. So why change the system in the first place?
“The players who are available,” Arteta said afterwards. “And if we want to manage the load and some of the issues that the team has, you have to adapt to that. Sometimes it’s not ideal when you have a day to prepare. But at the same time, it was a challenge for all of us to see how we could adjust to the things that I expected in very difficult circumstances.”
During a full day’s training between returning from Brighton and the trip to Mansfield, Arteta was asked how many times he had trained in that shape: “Yes, once, [for] 10 minutes.”
Arsenal essentially depended on having enough individual quality to progress, and this ultimately proved to be the case. Mansfield, reaching this stage of the competition for the first time since 1974 and facing a team 59 places higher in the English football pyramid, closed that gap for a long time with effort and effort.
Mansfield’s chief executive Caroline Radford spoke in the build-up about the emergency paint-job and fixing broken taps to get Mansfield ready for their big day. He flooded the pitch extensively to disrupt Arsenal’s passing as much as possible and his bravery in bringing players forward helped to unsettle the Gunners.
Salmon made a pass five minutes after half time cristian mosqueuraWho recovered patiently and gave Will Evans the chance to run into the Arsenal back line.
Evans forced his way into the box and fired low. Kepa Arrizabalaga Mansfield briefly drew level but Arteta responded jurian timber And Eze, who made his mark just four minutes after his introduction.
Arteta’s use of Eze is another point of friction for many. Many would like to see him playing longer in the team with the license to bring out his best creatively, but his Arsenal career has still been intermittent. This match-winning moment provides another opportunity to move on.
Downman lasted for the first 77 minutes bukayo saka Took his place. When a young teenager plays for the first team it is difficult to balance the space that any young teenager needs to develop by highlighting a talented individual like Dowman.
Some would like Arteta to use Douman more often – and you could argue that playing against opposition on this pitch, his skill to counter brute force was questionable – but the playmaker glides across a flawless surface, twisting and turning with an elegance that creates excitement over the potential to come.
His recent return from an ankle injury provides an interesting option in the run-in.
“Max, I think he was extraordinary,” Arteta said. “When the ball is bouncing everywhere and you have people on your back, the way he handles time and space and the way he makes touches is incredible. Especially the speed at which he executes those actions. But it shows you how much talent we have.”
It is now Arteta’s job to harness that talent to further Arsenal’s juggernaut. Trossard’s injuries and Riccardo Calafiori There will be cause for concern before Wednesday Champions League trip to bayer leverkusen.
“I think everyone feels involved,” Arteta said. “Our desire is that game by game we can get closer to what we can achieve.”
