Mikel Arteta took a rare opportunity to rotate his Arsenal side – so what did he learn?

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When Arenal lost to West Ham United in February, ending a 15-game unbeaten streak that saw them fall 11 points behind Liverpool, Mikel Arteta would not countenance giving up on the league title. “Over my dead body,” the Arsenal manager said.

There has been little room to field squad players but, with 72 hours until Real Madrid arrive on their doorstep for the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final, Arteta made five changes to the team that beat Fulham on Tuesday. On Friday, Arteta insisted the Everton game would not fade into insignificance, but a weakened Arsenal team left Merseyside after a 1-1 draw knowing that Liverpool need a maximum of 11 points from their final eight games to become champions.

Gabriel’ absence was enforced after suffering a season-ending hamstring tear against Fulham, but regulars Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli all started on the bench.

Bukayo Saka, who returned from a three-month lay-off against Fulham on Tuesday, and Jurrien Timber, who picked up a knee issue in the same game, also started on the bench.

“There were four players who couldn’t start the game after what happened with Fulham and obviously the injury of Gabi,” said Arteta.

“So that forces you to make some changes because players deserve to play minutes. I’m very happy with that. Everybody has to feel important. We have so many games coming and we have to rely on all of them.”

The idea of resting players or conceding defeat in a competition does not sit well with Arteta’s nature. He has been criticised before for his lack of rotation but, with no major trophies to show for the huge progress since the 2020 FA Cup triumph in Arteta’s first six months, the Champions League took precedence this week.

Given the fitness problems of Arsenal players this season, allied with Real Madrid naming a near full-strength team in the 2-1 loss against Valencia in La Liga, Arteta got this right.

The trip to Goodison Park also allowed him to test various back four combinations before Tuesday’s first leg.

Coming in alongside William Saliba for his first league start since December, Jakub Kiwior did not do his chances any harm as he was named TNT Sports’ man of the match. Ben White made his first league start at right-back since November before making way for Timber after an hour.

Jakub Kiwior did not do his chances any harm against Everton (Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

“We have alternatives there,” said Arteta.

“Today we had players who haven’t played together, so that connection hasn’t been there. Ben especially hasn’t played at all this season. So, good that they have the minutes, they have that understanding, and we will assess the best options for that back line.”

Arteta has been vocal about the lack of rest for elite players in an increasingly packed calendar, especially given how many knee and hamstring injuries Arsenal have suffered this season.

He said this week that he believes increased squad sizes and extreme versatility from players are the only way to cope with the fixture list, conceding that he may have to find a way to rotate more often.

Injuries are part of the explanation, but he has now made 70 changes to his Premier League starting line-ups after 30 games, compared to just 38 in 2022-23 and 63 in 2023-24.

Arteta relaxed the load from some of his main players but the drip-feed method in which they were introduced perhaps provides a glance into what Arteta envisages as the future of squad rotation.

At half-time, Saka and Martinelli came on for Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri. Timber replaced White in the 61st minute, Martin Odegaard was brought on for Jorginho in the 71st minute and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who gave away the equalising penalty, was swapped for Kieran Tierney in the 75th minute.

It meant Arsenal maintained the team’s overall strength throughout, despite the five substitutions. Arteta has spoken about the concept of substitutes being seen as “finishers” before but perhaps having two balanced teams for each game is a way of spreading minutes across games rather than completely taking out players.

It was a game between the two Premier League teams who have seen the fewest shots in their games this season, and it played out like that. It was stodgy, as shown by the 30 fouls compared to seven shots on target.

Arteta felt Arsenal did enough to win the game but this was the seventh time they have drawn a game from a winning position this season. On other occasions, they have had the caveat of a controversial red card decision, but this time, it was Lewis-Skelly’s disputed foul on Jack Harrison just a minute after half-time that saw them reeled back in.

“I’ve seen it 15 times, there’s no way, in my opinion, that’s a penalty,” said Arteta.

Arsenal did not build on the first goal, however, and the lack of verve in the final third rarely prised Everton open.

Tierney created three chances during his cameo — two more than any other Arsenal player — with Odegaard miskicking a great chance from a cutback and Mikel Merino miscueing a free header from the centre of the goal — but the way the game fizzled out spoke of a team who, deep down, know that the rest of their season will be defined by only one competition now: the Champions League.

(Top photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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