Mikel Arteta called upon three Arsenal outsiders to step up behind the scenes during a crucial period in the season.
Mikel Arteta has generally been very reliant upon a trusted core of Arsenal players this season.
The Spanish coach has not regularly rotated his preferred starting XI this season, especially when not forced to by suspensions or injuries.
For instance, William Saliba made Arsenal history on Sunday as he became the first outfield player to play every minute of a Premier League season for the club.
On top of that, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard all made at least 34 Premier League appearances.
Meanwhile, Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira, Mohamed Elneny, Emile Smith Rowe, Thomas Partey, Cedric Soares, and Jurrien Timber were all only afforded 15 or fewer outings in the competition. In the cases of Timber and Partey especially, though, this lack of involvement can be explained by injury.
In any case, the fact remains that Arteta stuck with his key players as often as he possibly could. This meant that during particularly hectic periods of the campaign, those most often in the firing line were almost never afforded a rest.
White often had to play through pain, whilst Arteta admitted at one stage that Saka was suffering with fatigue.
Mikel Arteta called on Fabio Vieira, Mohamed Elneny, and Cedric Soares to step up for Arsenal
However, those on the outskirts of the squad still had a vital role to play behind the scenes.
As reported by The Athletic, after the Gunners were eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern Munich and the mood amongst the group was low, Arteta tasked some of his lesser-used stars with providing a boost.
Arteta reportedly: “Picked out the likes of Cedric, Mohamed Elneny and Fabio Vieira, and told them this was the moment their energy was needed.
“They were required to lift the camp, to maintain the standards in training, and give their team-mates support for the remainder of the run-in.
“This, Arteta knew, was the sliding doors moment for their season.”
Mikel Arteta must learn lesson about Arsenal squad depth
Arsenal responded to their setback on the continental stage with six straight Premier League wins, as they maintained a perfect record until the end of the season, beating Wolves, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth, Manchester United, and Everton.
This suggests that those fringe players were successful in maintaining the positivity in the dressing room.
Despite taking the title race down to the final day of the season though, Arsenal could not do enough to be crowned champions. Arteta will look back on the Gunners’ stumble during the Christmas period, when they lost games against Fulham and West Ham United during that hectic phase, with a great deal of regret.
The manager must recognise that next season, in order to go all the way and win the league, he will need squad depth that he can trust on the pitch as well as behind the scenes.
