Arsenal's "White Flag" Dilemma in Arteta's Head

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY — Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has no time to dwell on nostalgia at Goodison Park Stadium. He must quickly make a decision, whether to continue or stop pursuing the Premier League title. That decision is fraught with risks and will impact Arsenal's fate at the end of the season.

Arteta will return to the place that shaped his name, Goodison Park, in the match between Arsenal and Everton on Saturday (5/4/2025) at 6:30 PM WIB. From Everton's headquarters, he began his career journey in England as a football player.

Arteta's figure remains well-regarded in the port city. As evidence, during the Everton versus Liverpool derby match last February, the club decided to feature Arteta's photo in the match booklet. Implicitly, Everton sided with Arsenal, who are competing for the championship title against Liverpool.

Praise was directly given by Everton Head Coach David Moyes, a mentor figure to Arteta, ahead of the match. "I am delighted because Mikel is one of our former players. He has had an extraordinary career (as a manager)," commended Moyes, who is in his second stint at Everton after the 2002-2013 era.

Ironically, support from Everton no longer holds any significance. Arsenal is trailing Liverpool by 12 points with eight weeks remaining. The Opta supercomputer predicts Liverpool's chances of winning the championship to reach 99 percent. The question arises at Goodison Park: is it time for Arteta to give up?

Arteta seemed to be slapped by reality. The club's condition is filled with uncertainty due to a storm of injuries. Just as the key winger Bukayo Saka returned after a three-month injury, the main defender Gabriel Magalhaes was confirmed to be out until the end of the season due to a thigh muscle injury.

Arteta's decision will be related to competition priorities. As is known, Arsenal is still competing in the Champions League. They are set to face the giant team Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Those two matches will take place within the next 12 days, in between two other English Premier League games.

If the domestic league is given up, player rotation can be done. Arsenal must be careful because of the availability of players, especially in the back line. In addition to losing Gabriel, full-back Ricardo Calafiori is also injured. Jurrien Timber and Ben White had minor problems in the previous match.

Without Timber and White, Arsenal only have five senior players in the back line. Three of them are left wing-backs. In addition to playing right wing-back, Timber and White are also cover for the center-back position left by Gabriel.

Despite the player crisis, Arteta did not show any "white flag" signals. He said he would not prioritize the match against Madrid in the middle of next week by rotating the squad heavily. The mainstay players who are in good condition will still be played.

"Everton is the biggest game for us at the moment. The best way to prepare for Madrid is to beat Everton. This is football, an emotional game that has to be played continuously. You have to give your best in every game," said Arteta.

Gabriel has been one of the most consistent players for the "Cannon" this season. Losing the Brazilian national team defender will create a huge hole. Statistics show that Arsenal's winning percentage is very unequal when with (63.5 percent) and without (40.9 percent) Gabriel.

Arteta feels the loss but believes the players can overcome it. "It's difficult because we just got Bukayo back, then we lose Gabi. We need different solutions now and keep competing like we have done all season," he said.

The safest option is to play backup defender Jakub Kiwior to duet with William Saliba. The problem is, Kiwior often loses focus when playing 90 minutes. The Polish player has minimal playing time this season, only appearing nine times from the start.

Midfielder Declan Rice could be an emergency option. Rice has played at centre-back several times throughout his career. That experiment could be tried at Goodison Park. "We tried it against PSV last season. He is capable of playing in that position, but hopefully it won't be needed," said Arteta.

This will be the first meeting between Arteta and Moyes at Goodison Park. They have faced each other several times, but Moyes was the manager of West Ham United. Arteta dominates the head-to-head record against his mentor (W6, D2, L2). (AP/REUTERS)