To misquote Oscar Wilde, to lose one two-goal lead in a week can be considered unfortunate; to lose two looks like carelessness. And Arsenal have undoubtedly been careless over the last week, in surrendering four points at Liverpool and West Ham after initially dominating both games and taking commanding leads.
However, it is possible that the team took their cue from the manager, because arguably it was Mikel Arteta’s carelessness – or at least lack of care of his players, particularly William Saliba – in the Europa League that could end up costing them the Premier League.
Has William Saliba’s Europa League Injury Cost Arsenal The League Title?
Lisbon Injury
As if any Gunners fan could possibly forget, Saliba was injured early in the home tie of the Europa League last 16 tie against Sporting Lisbon just over a month ago. Unfortunately for Saliba himself and the club, what initially looked like an innocuous back injury has proven to be anything but as the young French centre-back has not played a game since. And in his absence, his importance to the team has been powerfully, even painfully, demonstrated, because the whole defence has not looked nearly as good as it did with him in it.
Of course, what compounded the difficulties caused by Saliba’s injury is that another defender, Takehiro Tomiyasu, was injured in the same game. Tomiyasu’s knee injury was even more serious than Saliba’s back injury, as he has already been ruled out for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, it has had even more serious consequences, because it has meant that Ben White, who would normally have replaced the Frenchman in central defence (his regular position before this season), has instead been required to continue at right-back in Tomiyasu’s absence.
The upshot has been that instead of a first-choice defender playing alongside Gabriel in central defence, it has been Rob Holding. Holding is a good squad player, a consummate professional and something of a cult figure among Arsenal fans, who love his commitment to the club. That was evident in Amazon’s All Or Nothing series on Arsenal, in which he made it clear that he was content to be a squad player at Arsenal rather than a first-choice elsewhere.
However, just as happened at the end of last season, when the Englishman was also compelled to come into the starting lineup late on in the campaign and ended up being sent off against Tottenham Hotspur, his reinstatement to the heart of the defence has coincided with a deterioration in the overall quality of the back four. That is not to pin all the blame on Holding himself. It is merely to point out the truth: that he is the fourth-choice centre-back at Arsenal and in the very toughest away games, as at Anfield or the London Stadium, that status has been clear for all to see.
Defensive Lynchpin
In Saliba’s absence, it has become increasingly clear that he is the lynchpin of the defence. There have been various reasons put forward for the Gunners’ huge improvement this season, in particular the addition of Gabriel Jesus to attack and the regular presence, for the first time in his three seasons at The Emirates, of Thomas Partey in central midfield. However, it is possible that the most important reason for Arsenal’s improvement has been the addition of Saliba to the side.
It was a brave decision by Arteta to break up his regular centre-half pairing of Gabriel and White to accommodate the 22-year-old, but that decision was triumphantly vindicated as the whole backline, with White now playing at right-back, became immeasurably stronger. Indeed, until Saliba’s injury and subsequent absence from the team, Arsenal had not only one of the best defences in the Premier League but arguably the club’s best defence since that of the Invincibles in 2004.
Precautions Should Have Been Taken
Because of his importance to the defence and indeed the entire team, Saliba should not have been risked in the Europa League. Saying this is not a case of being wise after the event; it was a case of being wise before the event. Like other Arsenal fans and observers, we had argued that key first-team players like Saliba should not have been played in Europe, because there was no need to risk them getting injured in a competition that the side no longer had to prioritise.
Read More: Arsenal Should Forget Europe And Focus Solely On Winning League
Unfortunately, Arteta, obviously emboldened by his team’s impressive season, thought otherwise and played a strong starting eleven, with many regular first-teamers (including Saliba), in the Europa League. After Arsenal were knocked out of it on penalties by Sporting Lisbon, it was thought that their elimination from Europe might have been a blessing in disguise, as they could now completely focus on the domestic league and not risk any players getting injured in European competition.
Unfortunately, it increasingly feels like the damage had already been done, with the injury to Saliba in particular and, to a lesser extent, Tomiyasu. In the four League games since then, the patched-up defence has been good enough to resist relegation strugglers Crystal Palace and Leeds at home, but not nearly good enough to resist perennial rivals Liverpool and local rivals West Ham away.
Saliba Could Have Been Injured In Training – But Wasn’t
Of course, injuries happen, even injuries to key players at key stages of the season, as has happened with Saliba now. And of course, Saliba could have been injured in training or in a League game. Unfortunately, however, the truth is that he was injured in a game that he should not have been playing in, namely one in the Europa League.
The manager optimistically believed that he had the depth of squad, especially after the additions of Jorginho and Leandro Trossard, to compete in two competitions right to the end. But the truth, as seems increasingly obvious now, is that he had built a fine first team that could compete with anyone but as yet does not have the depth to compete in more than one competition.
Arteta has done an absolutely exceptional job this season in getting Arsenal to compete for the Premier League title, especially with a team and squad that on average is the youngest in the Premier League, with the possible exception of seemingly relegation-doomed Southampton, who the Gunners next play, on Friday at home. However, he may just have made a crucial mistake in risking Saliba in the Europa League, a mistake that was then compounded by the dreadful bad luck of losing Tomiyasu in the same game. But to misquote Oscar Wilde again, to lose one defender in an essentially meaningless European match can be considered unfortunate; to lose two begins to look like carelessness.
All Eyes on Manchester City Clash
Now all that Arteta and everyone else associated with Arsenal can hope for is that Saliba somehow recovers in time to play at The Emirates against Manchester City next week. Arsenal can win their next game, against Southampton, without him, just as they won earlier games against other relegation-fighting sides without him. Against City, however, and against Erling Haaland in particular, the French international has to play if Arsenal are to have any chance of defeating the reigning Champions, as they almost certainly will have to do now after their last two poor results.
Admittedly, it would be Saliba’s first game back after a prolonged injury against arguably the most fearsome striker in the world right now, but without him, it is almost impossible to see Gabriel and Holding stopping the giant Norwegian from scoring at least once. The only other option, if Saliba is still not fit to play against City, would be to reinstate White alongside Gabriel in central defence, with either Kieran Tierney or Oleksandr Zinchenko (who are obviously both natural left-footers), playing at right-back against City’s plethora of left-sided wide attackers (Grealish, Mahrez et al).
Obviously, neither of these solutions – reinstating Saliba (for his first game back) or White in central defence – is ideal and would be a tremendous blow to the admirable Holding. However, if Arteta does nothing and persists with the Holding-Gabriel combination that is already creaking, the Arsenal defence will surely crack wide open against the Citizens. And then his initial folly in risking a key first-team player such as Saliba in the Europa League will come under even greater scrutiny.
