If They’re Good Enough, They’re Old Enough

On Saturday, Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates in what was honestly a shocking result. For the first time in almost two months, the most miserable Arsenal team of the modern era earned a victory, and against one of the best squads in the Premier League to boot. While Arsenal entered the match languishing near the relegation zone, Chelsea would have moved to second place with a victory in north London. But Mikel Arteta was forced by injuries and sickness to put his trust in Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli, who combined beautifully with the already established Bukayo Saka to rejuvenate the team around them and play one of the most expensive squads in Europe off the pitch. It leaves Arsenal in an important moment in their season. Saturday’s victory has laid bare for Arteta the fact that some of his youngest players are also the best players at his disposal.

At only 19 years old, Saka is already a stalwart of the first team at Arsenal. Having broken through under Unai Emery, the young Londoner has gone on to become one of the most reliable footballers in the squad, consistently delivering serviceable or better performances as a senior player. Before suffering a torn ACL, Martinelli was approaching that status as well, although Arteta had refrained from deploying him in the four matches prior to the knee injury. Now that he has returned to full fitness, the manager has been quick to implement the 19-year-old — perhaps a little too quick for a contingent of the Arsenal fanbase.

But until Saturday, Smith Rowe had not been looked to as an option in the Premier League, despite being older than Saka and Martinelli. At 20, Smith Rowe’s primary involvement this season had come in the Europa League. This is despite the lack of a reliable creative midfielder in the squad due to Mkhitaryan’s exit, Ozil’s exile, and Willian’s horrific start to his Arsenal career. And yet, it took the removal of Willian from consideration due to alleged COVID-19 symptoms in order for Smith Rowe to get his second-ever start, and his first in over a year. However, he has surely delivered a performance that makes dropping him indefensible for the foreseeable future.

It is no secret that Arsenal’s senior players have been atrocious this season. Players like Xhaka, Elneny, Ceballos, Willian, David Luiz, and Lacazette have played at a truly abysmal level these last few months. Much of the blame for Arsenal’s current position in the league table lies with them. Their consistent inclusion in matchday squads has beggared belief from supporters, especially with young players like Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, William Saliba, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Folarin Balogun waiting in the wings. The more experienced squad members have looked static, disinterested, and downright out of their depth for the majority of the Premier League season. Meanwhile, the youngsters had shown immense promise in the Europa League. Even taking the lower level of opposition into account, fans have rightly clamored for the younger players, particularly Smith Rowe, to get a chance. Arteta’s famous non-negotiables have been called into question, with many doubting whether a meritocracy actually exists at the club due to the younger players’ lack of opportunity.

That opportunity finally came on Saturday. With Willian out, Aubameyang recovering from injury and probably being saved for Brighton and West Brom, and Pepe out of sorts, Arteta deployed the three youths behind Lacazette in Arsenal’s attack. They delivered two things that have rarely been seen from Arteta’s Arsenal this season: passion and a performance. Martinelli pressed and harried the Chelsea defense, provided pace and physicality on the left flank, and had two shots on goal (more than anyone else on the pitch). Smith Rowe provided a passing outlet in the final third, deftly moving into vulnerable spaces while quickly and cleanly passing the ball whenever he received it. He walked away with an assist to his name. And Saka, who already has had moments of sheer brilliance this season, looked unburdened. With other dynamic players alongside him, Saka didn’t have to make things happen on his own, as has been the case many times throughout the last couple months. As a result, he scored a delightful, entirely intended goal to make it 3-0 against Chelsea and was deemed Man of the Match.

With Saka, Martinelli, and Smith Rowe all on the pitch, Arsenal were energetic. They were more potent. They were more determined. The passing accuracy declined slightly, but almost every time the Gunners went forward, they looked threatening. They made Chelsea nervous, and capitalized on the resulting mistakes. They also gave Xhaka and Elneny runners to ping the ball forward to, as well as space for Bellerin and Tierney to bomb forward and sling in crosses (although Tierney’s delivery was a touch more dangerous than Bellerin’s). Simply put, Arsenal were just better with those three on the pitch.

Since his tenure at Arsenal began, Arteta has chosen to place his faith in the hands of more experienced players. With the exception of Saka, who was already a regular when he arrived, the manager has refrained from giving too much responsibility to the club’s young players. Perhaps he does not think they’re ready or good enough. Or maybe he wants to keep them out of the line of fire and protect their careers from an early implosion. But the senior players have drastically let him down. If you believe the rumors, several of them have turned against him and want him sacked. If you just believe what happens on the pitch, they are woefully underperforming and occasionally failing to even look like they’re trying. Either way, Arteta’s strategy of letting the old guard get him through the season isn’t working. Saturday provided a blueprint for how he can right the ship.

Despite their relative inexperience, there are a number of reasons why Martinelli and Smith Rowe should be much more involved going forward. Such a decision would increase their value should Arsenal ever decide to sell them off. It would lend credibility to how Arteta handles other young players at the club (cough, cough, Saliba). But, of course, the most obvious reason is that they are good enough to start over the more senior players. Martinelli is far more dynamic than Willian, more physical than Nelson, more productive than Pepe, and more naturally suited to play on the left flank than Aubameyang is. Smith Rowe is essentially the best creative midfielder in the squad with Ozil unregistered. He’s certainly better at the role than Lacazette, a striker, and Willian, a right winger, are. Furthermore, they improve the players around them. They give Xhaka and Elneny a compelling reason to think twice before making another cowardly back pass to the keeper. They give Tierney and Bellerin passing options in the final third. At the end of the day, Arsenal had likely their best performance of the season so far because their best players were on the pitch.

Saka was only 18 when he became a staple of the Arsenal first team. Why? Because he was good enough. His age didn’t matter, because he provided on the pitch better than anyone else at his position was able to do. Martinelli and Smith Rowe are now knocking on that same door. And even though neither are old enough to legally drink in the United States, Arteta should open up and let them in. Because unlike several more senior players, they are better than the horror show that we’ve witnessed this season. Instead of trying to coach up mediocre players in the twilight of their careers, Arteta needs to nurture the potential superstars who are already more effective than the old guard. Talent is talent, and if they can make Arsenal fun to watch again, if they can help bring the club back to where it belongs, who cares how old they are?

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