Arsenal 2-0 Olympiakos (Martinelli 12′, Saka 90+2′)
EMIRATES STADIUM — Midway through the second half, Mikel Arteta took a rare glance away from the pitch. His eyes had been glued to the action as Arsenal tried to see off Olympiakos, kicking every ball, pressing every pass, desperate for a second goal that would kill the game as a contest.
Struggling for a breakthrough, the manager’s eyes flitted back to the substitutes’ bench from the edge of the technical area. He hit upon two of England’s most talented footballers – Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze – and sent them to warm up.
A few minutes later they were on the pitch and in stoppage time, Saka got the goal that allowed Arteta to smile, perhaps for the first time that evening, and know that three points were safe.
Arsenal have now won 14 straight home European group stage fixtures (or league stage as they now call it), but all too often they have had to do it with all available resources on the pitch. Not so any more.
“With all respect, last season, we were looking at [the bench and] we had five academy players that probably never played professional football in the Champions League,” Arteta said afterwards.
It is Saka who has born the lion’s share of Arsenal’s gruelling schedule.
The 24-year-old will probably go past 300 appearances for the club this season and will make his 200th in the Premier League on Saturday. It is no coincidence that he missed much of last season, and some of this one, with a hamstring injury and that “Saka limps off” is a headline far too regular for Arteta’s liking.
Bukayo Saka comes off the bench to make it 2-0 for Arsenal
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“Today it was more risky,” was the Spanish boss’s explanation for not handing Saka another start against the Greek champions, although it needed no justification; instead, he had the luxury of playing 20 minutes at the end against tired defenders, and he made hay. A driving run to the byline should have produced an assist, but Martin Odegaard fluffed his shot. When the skipper returned the favour with a delicate pass through the defensive line, Saka was more ruthless.
Such is the nature of Arsenal’s squad now that Arteta can make six changes to the starting line-up and it is hardly any weaker. He was confident enough to leave the likes of Saka and Eberechi Eze out, and trust that Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli would do the job in their place.
That confidence looked misplaced after just two minutes when Martinelli missed a sitter from five yards out, but the Brazilian did score the opener and has now scored crucial goals against Olympiakos, Manchester City and Athletic Bilbao. He is no longer a guaranteed starter for Arsenal – Eberechi Eze and, when fit, Noni Madueke have put paid to that – but has a key role to play if they are to compete on multiple fronts. If Arteta can keep him happy, he is a very strong second stringer.
It’s not just the forward line that has capable replacements either. Declan Rice does, Arteta insists, get tired sometimes although he rarely shows it, glutton for punishment that he is – and the Gunners still looked assured in midfield with Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino doing the job without him. He added much off the bench, but will be far fresher as a result of the light work afforded him on Wednesday evening.
Even when Gabriel Magalhaes went down injured in the second half, he could have played on – and perhaps made it worse. But with the very capable Cristhian Mosquera ready to step into his shoes, why take the risk? The Brazilian defender came off and did not disappear down the tunnel for treatment, suggesting his withdrawal was a precaution Arteta might not have been able to exercise 12 months ago: compare that to the 2022-23 season, when Arsenal’s title bid collapsed because William Saliba went down with a back injury. Rob Holding was the back-up then, and the Gunners defence crumbled.
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It has not been a quick, easy or cheap process. Arsenal have been Premier League title contenders for three years in a row and last year reached the Champions League semi-final too. The next challenge is to win one of them – or preferably, both – and Arsenal have spent more than £600m net trying to assemble a group of players capable of doing so.
Why? Because what propelled Man City to multi-tournament success was having two world-class players in every position.
Arsenal are not far off that, and 20 years on from the last time the Gunners last did the double, that’s what they will need to do it again.
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