Arsenal: Can Mikel Arteta thrive where Unai Emery floundered?

Arsenal have been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks. Unai Emery failed to handle such problems. Can Mikel Arteta now thrive where he floundered?

Throughout the Unai Emery era at Arsenal, injuries to key players at key positions were used as a way to defend his static and unimpressive management.

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Rob Holding tore his ACL just as he was establishing himself as the starting centre-back. Left-back was a major problem during Emery’s first year in charge before an injured Kieran Tierney arrived as a ‘solution’, while Hector Bellerin was out for much of the season, Emery having to greatly shuffle his pack to simply field any remotely capable full-backs. Aaron Ramsey pulled his hamstring ahead of the season run-in.

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Emery did see the Arsenal squad suffer from vast and significant injury issues. It is a somewhat fair excuse for the difficulties endured under his management. But they are also not valid reasons for the poor performances of the team throughout.

His successor, Mikel Arteta, is now suffering from the same, sweeping injury problems. Speaking in a press conference this week, Arteta commented on several new injuries. First was Sead Kolasinac, who has now been ruled out of Saturday’s match against Sheffield United (Arsenal now have no fit natural left-backs to field against United):

"“I don’t know, the doctors are assessing him still – he had a normal session yesterday. He has been in some discomfort, we know this season that he had some little niggles, so we have to assess him and see if we can get him fit for Saturday or he will be out.”"

Then there is Lucas Torreira:

"“Very similar situation. He trained yesterday as well, but still not 100 per cent confident so we will have to wait and see again. It is something related to his hip, producing some pain in the muscle. I don’t know. He is a tough boy, he wants to train, he wants to play and hopefully he will be available for the weekend.”"

And finally, Bellerin, who has been dealing with a curiously extended hamstring strain:

"“He has been training with us for the past few days, he is looking much sharper, much better. He needs a little chunk of training sessions before he is ready to compete but he is looking much better.”"

And these are not the only injury problems. Calum Chambers will miss the remainder of the season thanks to an ACL tear, Tierney dislocated his shoulder before Arteta arrived and will not return to training until mid-March and likely will not be match-fit until April at the earliest. Similarly, Granit Xhaka has missed time, Gabriel Martinelli has only just returned to availability and is yet to make a start under Arteta, while the likes of Mesut Ozil, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alexandre Lacazette have been forced to play every game simply due to a lack of alternative options.

The Arsenal squad is heavily fatigued, vastly injured at crucial positions — especially defensively –and is now dealing with the three-game suspension of their top goalscorer on who they are solely reliant for making the net ripple. Arteta has reason to moan.

So can he now flourish where Emery floundered? Can Arteta deal with the injury problems, coach up the reserve and young players who he will now lean on, and form a team that is capable of winning games without several of their best players? Arteta must now prove that he can thrive where Emery floundered.