Arteta has ‘no regrets’ about starting Saka – but questions remain over Arsenal’s squad rotation

This is Mikel Arteta’s third campaign taking charge of a European group stage at Arsenal. In that time, he has only rotated sparingly. His constant use of Bukayo Saka has garnered increasing attention as the winger made his 87th consecutive Premier League appearance at the weekend, but this came to a head when he was forced off in the first half in the 2-1 loss to Lens.

“He tried to backheel a ball in the first half and felt something muscular,” Arteta, the Arsenal manager, said. “He felt uncomfortable and we had to take him off. We don’t know anything more. It was big enough not to allow him to continue to play and that’s a worry for us. I have no clue (if he will be fit for Sunday’s match against Manchester City).”

In the Europa League, Arteta’s starting XIs tended to have five or six changes from his league sides. That has not been the case in either Champions League outing this season. Three changes came against PSV Eindhoven and two against Lens and that decrease in rotation falls in line with Arsenal being in a better competition. Defeat to Lens shows why a strong team was necessary, but Arteta would have had his reasons beforehand other than simply the stage.

He usually tries to take early control of the group stages in European competitions. The intangibles surrounding Lens would also have been a factor. Their Stade Bollaert-Delelis has a capacity larger than the city’s population (38,000 to the city’s 30,000), which the matchday demonstrated perfectly. The city was sleepy throughout the day but the stadium was wide awake, full and bouncing from at least 45 minutes before kick-off until after the final whistle. Arteta admitted he had experienced that atmosphere as a player on loan at Paris Saint-Germain and coping was going to be essential.

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Lens’ start was fierce, but the sharpness of Saka and Gabriel Jesus in particular as regular starters was key to going ahead. One touch from Saka to intercept and pass and three from Jesus to control, shift the ball and shoot were all that were needed to turn a defensive situation into a goal. Saka hobbling off the pitch just 20 minutes later showed the flip-side many have been dreading, even if the attitude has been calmer internally.

When asked if he has to convince Saka to play every three days, Arteta replied: “No, he was really looking forward to playing, like every player.”

“It was a big Champions League night. I painted a picture and the type of scenario we were going to face today and they all knew about it, but this Champions League is so difficult to win away from home. Today we take a big lesson.”

The Arsenal manager went on to say he had “no regrets” about starting Saka after the England forward was forced off against Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur with “more knocks than anything else”.

This discussion has been brewing for years. On his 21st birthday last year (September 5, 2022) — heading into a winter World Cup — Saka had played more minutes than any under-21 player in Europe’s top five leagues (3,505) since the start of the previous season (2021-22). Before that, he was Arsenal’s second most-used outfield player behind Granit Xhaka as a 19-year-old in 2020-21, while being used in multiple roles that brought differing demands.

When told about Arsenal fans’ anxiety at him going down/coming off injured in the summer by Ian Wright, Saka said: “Listen, I’m fine. I don’t think you really need to worry about me.” Even so, his departure and what followed calls into question how Arteta makes use of his squad.

Fabio Vieira replaced Saka in the first half. A left-footer but a very different player when used on the right wing. Instead of being an all-rounder like Saka, Vieira tried to get the ball to feet more so he could play to his strength: passing. While the theory was sound, the switch did not work. Lens’ players were feeding off the confidence from their fans, shutting down central areas, and playing high up the pitch, which would perhaps have lent itself more to Reiss Nelson’s pace on the break.

After signing his new long-term contract in the summer, Nelson has impressed in his cameo appearances off the bench and did so again in his start against Brentford last week. When asked if he saw the winger as an impact player after his winner at the Gtech Community Stadium, Arteta said: “We have to see him starting as well. We want to have a team that is more unpredictable and has the resources to rotate. They have to become starters. If not, it’s not enough.”

Although Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and Benjamin White were waiting to come on for a few minutes when Lens went ahead, the signs for change/opportunity were there long before. Lens started pushing for a second near the hour mark and left space behind their defence as a result. Once they took the lead, they dropped off and the space vanished — aside from when Nelson had an opportunity to stretch the pitch late on, which resulted in Arsenal’s last big chance.

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A similar sentiment arose at the back end of last season when Arteta appeared reluctant to change matters until it was too late. Deciding against starting Leandro Trossard and Jorginho until Chelsea at home (after the run of three successive draws and away defeat to Manchester City) was the prime example.

If they (Arteta’s squad players) “have to become starters as well”, they will need proper opportunities to show they can be trusted.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is getting more opportunities since his impressive start to last month and, despite having a big chance saved, is performing well. Last week, Arteta said: “I always said I’m really confident the moment Tomi has consistency, he’s going to be a tremendous asset for us. Now he needs a run of games.”

The same could be said for those on the bench (namely Nelson, Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale after David Raya’s error), but chances need to come when the time is right.

Luckily for Arsenal, PSV’s added-time equaliser at Sevilla keeps them second in Group B. Manchester City on Sunday is the bigger picture, however, and just like when Declan Rice was forced off early against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal simply cannot afford for Saka’s absence to be lengthy.

(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)