“One arse cannot ride two horses” is an Irish variation of the old saying, “One man cannot have two masters”, which expresses the difficulty of trying to complete two tasks simultaneously. Arguably, the expression has never been truer than after Arsenal were knocked out of the Europa League by Sporting Lisbon in the last 16. Now that they are out of Europe, the Gunners can focus fully and solely on trying to win the Premier League. And the fact that their opponent is a Manchester City side trying to emulate their neighbours’ greatest ever feat of winning a Treble of League, Champions League and FA Cup might just give them the edge. This is because unlike City, the single-minded Arsenal team has one goal in mind, win the Premier League.
European Last Eight Draws Confirm Arsenal’s Loss Was A Blessing In Disguise
If any Arsenal fan or even player was in any doubt that going out of the Europa League could strengthen their Premier League challenge, then the quarterfinal and semi-final draws for both the Europa League and the Champions League will probably convince them.
UEFA make the draws for the quarterfinals and semi-finals of their competitions at the same time supposedly because it helps everyone involved, from clubs to fans to police authorities, to plan for those crucial games, which all take place over a relatively short period of time, right through to the end of the season. However, one effect of this compressed or even concertina-ed draw is to create potentially lopsided halves of each draw, and that is exactly what has happened this time around.
💬 "It’s done now, we can’t think too much about it, we have to move forward and we have a new game on Sunday and we just have to be ready for that one now." pic.twitter.com/R7UXPwD9G0
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 16, 2023
If Arsenal had progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and received exactly the same draw as their conquerors, they would have faced Juventus in the quarter-final before an even more daunting task in the semi-final, as they would have met either Sevilla (serial winners of the Europa League) or a resurgent Manchester United, which would have been an English “derby” in Europe that neither side would have wanted. And all of that would be before reaching a final against probably Jose Mourinho’s Roma, who are the standout side on the other half of the draw. That would have been at least two and possibly five more matches against top-class competition, either European or domestic.
Obviously, all of that is just speculation, but what is not speculation is to say that Manchester City face an even more arduous task if they are to reach the Champions League Final, let alone win it, as they are desperate to do after winning the English title so many times. In a draw that is even more weighted on one side than the Europa League draw, City first play Bayern Munich in the quarterfinal, with the second leg away in Bavaria; if they overcome the German giants, they would face the winner of the Real Madrid v Chelsea last eight tie in the semi-final; and if they come through all that they will almost certainly face resolute Italian opposition in the final, with Napoli, who are dreaming of a Serie A and Champions League double, the most likely Italian team to make it through to Istanbul.
And Don’t Forget That City Are Still In The FA Cup
It should not be forgotten that Manchester City are still in the FA Cup, too. Although they have the relatively straightforward task of hosting Championship pace-setters Burnley (and their old hero, Vincent Kompany) in the quarter-final, there is every chance that they will have to face city rivals United in a big, highly pressurised game at Wembley, either in the semi-final or the final.
In total, therefore, if Manchester City are to match Manchester United’s truly historic treble in 1999, they will have to play eight more games than Arsenal, who now have only their last 11 Premier League games to focus on. And the majority of those eight games for City would be against fellow European and domestic heavyweights, played out over two legs over a single week, with all the attendant difficulties of fixture congestion and risk of injury, as Arsenal themselves have just discovered in the Europa League.
Europe Could Be The Great Leveller In The Premier League for Single-Minded Arsenal
All of this means that Manchester City’s continuing involvement in the Champions League, especially in such a fiercely competitive quarterfinal and semi-final draw, could just be the great leveller in the Premier League. City not only have a much deeper and more experienced squad than Arsenal but also a generally easier run-in, especially as Arsenal have a trio of tough away fixtures at Anfield, Newcastle and the Etihad itself still to complete.
Now, with City facing at the very least a fiendishly difficult two-legged Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern, which would be followed if they win it by a two-legged semi-final against one of their Champions League conquerors from the last two seasons, the natural advantages of their greater squad depth and relatively easier run-in than Arsenal could be offset, or even completely eliminated.
Single-Minded Arsenal’s Great Advantage Now Is “Clarity”
Good vibes only 😁
📍 London Colney pic.twitter.com/TWJlbKot8r
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 18, 2023
The real advantage for Arsenal of going out of Europe, as Mikel Arteta himself acknowledged in the aftermath of their penalty shootout loss to Sporting, is that they have a “clarity” that Manchester City do not. While City and Pep Guardiola in particular have to juggle their (admittedly impressive) playing resources in three different competitions over the next two months, Arsenal have a single target. And fortunately for them, it is the biggest target of all – the Premier League.
In truth, the real blow to Arsenal from crashing out of Europe may not be the defeat itself but the injuries they sustained in the process, particularly as they both came in defence. As Arteta also admitted after the game, Takehiro Tomiyasu’s early injury after he slid on the rain-drenched Emirates turf looks “serious”. And even if William Saliba’s groin strain does not appear as worrying, it is still potentially a major complication, not least because his natural replacement at centre-back, Ben White, is also the team’s established right-back, and his natural replacement at right-back, Tomiyasu, is now injured.
If Saliba is out even for the Crystal Palace match this weekend, Arteta and Arsenal fans will presumably have to hope that Oleksandr Zinchenko’s already legendary versatility extends to playing at right-back, with Kieran Tierney replacing him at left-back.
So, it may be that the real effect of Arsenal’s Europa League loss has not yet been felt. Nevertheless, all things and in particular all European draws considered, it may yet prove to be not just a blessing in disguise but a blessing in plain clothes. They now have just 11 games to win the Premier League. And if they do win it, they might just look back at their Europa League demise as the determining factor.
