by Mikel Arteta’s attention to detail is such that it certainly won’t have escaped him that this week’s thrilling 2-2 Champions League draw against Bayern Munich took place one year on from another high-profile game that ended with the same scoreline .
It is now remarkable that 12 months ago the Arsenal manager was recognizing Aaron Ramsdale’s vital role in saving his side a point against Liverpool despite leading 2-0 at half-time, with the goalkeeper producing a series of great saves in stoppage time after Roberto. Firmino’s late equaliser. “He was excellent again today,” said Arteta. “You need your goalkeeper at Anfield.”
Asked how his side would respond after having their lead over Manchester City cut to six points, the Spaniard added: “We’re responding with 30 games now. Every day is a test and the test now is how good we will be against West Ham.”
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We can only wonder how Ramsdale felt on the bench as he watched his substitute, David Raya, cut 45 yards from his goal against Bayern in the 18th minute of the first leg at the Emirates. Up until that stage, Arsenal’s lively young side were in complete control of a team that has been very successful this season in the Bundesliga and found themselves 1-0 up through Bukayo Saka’s expert finish after a mistake from Alphonso Davies. The Canadian defender also picked up a booking that rules him out of next week’s second round and was being thoroughly worked over by Saka and Ben White.
Ninety seconds later, the ball was in the Arsenal net after Raya’s blood Rush prompted Gabriel Magalhães to pass it straight to Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry just beat the Arsenal goalkeeper with Leon Goretzka’s pass. The home defense still looked like they were in for a stage fright 12 minutes later when Sané broke free from Jakub Kiwior and continued to run past the red shirts until William Saliba brought him down.
It was a concern for a defense that had kept four straight clean sheets and last conceded two goals in the same game when Liverpool won the FA Cup on January 7. That followed back-to-back losses to West Ham and Fulham, when their title chances seemed to be slipping away again. But while last season’s draw at Anfield was the highlight of Arsenal’s campaign, they drew 2-2 at West Ham the following week before saving another late draw against relegation-bound Southampton to give City an advantage in the title. race, this time Arteta is counting on his side after learning from their mistakes against Bayern as they face Aston Villa on Sunday.
“When we concede two goals it affects the way we have done it [the team] but that’s what you do after,” he said. “When you’re losing 2-1 after having complete control of the game you have to play that game. And you’ve never done it and it’s Bayern Munich, and you’re 2-1 down when the expectation was very different and now you have to deal with that. The players were exceptional at that point because any other team” – at this point Arteta made a choking noise – “falls and we didn’t fall. We stayed in the game and we were focused. We made some changes that had some impact and we got a draw. I will have learned a lot so it was a great experience.”
Asked if their second-half recovery showed how far his side had progressed, Arteta added: “Yes, for sure – I was impressed and I told them that. It’s not easy – it’s easy from the stands to adapt one image without giving any context.
“A football game is a story and the story happens for a reason. What happens in the first minute has an effect on what happens in the second. What happens after 10 minutes affects what happened three days ago in another game. You can’t isolate the pictures and then judge – it just doesn’t work that way.
“It’s like putting miles on a car. If you have more miles, you have more baggage, more experience, and that is needed, especially in this competition. There is a lot to learn from the other day and there are also a lot of positive things to do.”
Arsenal picked up 12 points from their last seven games last season as Manchester City swept to their third title in a row. But Arteta hopes having a full squad to choose from could make all the difference this time around.
“We talked about it, it’s definitely a big advantage to have the squad healthy and the players we have available,” he said. “It’s about doing the right ones [changes]. The answer to that is always if you win – because that’s the only judgment you’ll get. But the secret is to keep everyone involved, feeling important and fresh. It will be crucial.”
