Arsenal were handed a harsh Champions League lesson when they were eliminated from the competition by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
A 1-0 win for the hosts at the Allianz Arena was enough to see Arsenal crash out of Europe’s elite club competition at the quarter-final stage.
Mikel Arteta’s squad lacks Champions League experience. Few of his players have ever featured in the competition prior to this season. At times throughout this continental campaign, their nerves have been evident, never more so than last night when Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya almost contrived to concede a comical own goal.
The Gunners must now learn from this chastening Champions League experience. They will be competing in the tournament next season, when the aim will be to go at least one step further. In order to manage that, though, Arteta must reflect upon this failure and observe what it tells him about his current crop of players.
Jorginho is fading fast
Jorginho has impressed on many occasions this season. The midfield veteran has perhaps played significantly more football than would have been expected due to Thomas Partey’s injury issues, but he has generally been a reliable figure in the middle of the park. In recent weeks, though, the intensity of the fixture schedule looks to have caught up with him. Jorginho was called out for being “poor” against both Aston Villa and Bayern Munich in the first-leg.
The £12 million former Chelsea man struggled again with the pace of the game last night. There has been a clamour for Arsenal to hand Jorginho a new contract, as he is currently due to become a free agent this summer. There is a strong argument for extending his stay at the Emirates Stadium, as he can still contribute and his experience is valuable. However, Arsenal need to be far less reliant on him next season if he is still around.
A new striker must be top summer priority for Arsenal
Arsenal have been linked with a host of strikers throughout this season. Gabriel Jesus has frustrated Arsenal fans in recent weeks, and he has never been the most prolific goalscorer, nor is Kai Havertz. The Gunners lacked cutting edge against Bayern Munich over the two legs, and it cost them.
Arsenal have the Premier League’s most creative player in Martin Odegaard, but his talents are being under-utilised, as he doesn’t have an efficient finisher to provide for. An elite goalscorer could easily have made all the difference for Arsenal in this tie.
Mikel Arteta must trust his full squad
Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, and Thomas Partey, amongst others, are all examples of first-team players who, when fit, have spent the vast majority of their time on the bench this season.
To varying extents, Arteta clearly lacks trust in these players. As they aren’t being used, that adds to stress placed upon the regular starters who are so rarely afforded a rest. At this stage of the season, when results matter most, the Gunners have struggled to maintain their momentum as fatigue has begun to set in for Arteta’s favourites.
Either there needs to be a major squad overhaul this summer, with a number of rotation players that the manager actually believes in coming into the group, or Arteta has to bite the bullet and show faith in these lesser-seen stars. In any case, something needs to change.
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