I think he doesn’t need to rotate, none of the top teams rotate their CL and Prem sides - Salah and Odegaard play regardless - Odegaard got injured on international duty in the end and it had nothing to do with tiredness.
Just go with your strongest side.
Solanke dropping out at short notice meant he had to add an attacking player at short notice - but still didn’t pick Kulu.
It’s definitely a case of overthinking - just play the strongest team, injuries will happen regardless and we will adapt if they do. By resting, your just cutting down the amount of time your best players are out on the pitch
In years gone by, I think the Ropey league was actually more taxing on players than the CL. The fixtures were often away in the arse end of nowhere, with long, arduous trips to the likes of Uzbekistan. There was also an extra knock out round in the ropey league inserting 2 extra fixtures before the last 16. In some cases there were qualifiers before the groups too (Pacos anyone?)
And then throw in the fact that your reward for getting out of the group was a tie against a CL team.
It feels like this year though, both comps are at least level in match demands. We haven't had to go too far and have the same number of games to play as the CL.
I did always find it funny that we would work hard all season to qualify for the ropey league and then drop everyone for the games and play the B side most seasons.
Arteta won the cup in his first year - that bought him time that Emery didn’t get.
Klopps achievements at dortmund were always going to get him more time than most, he was in the top 3 most sought after managers in the world.
I’m not saying Ange shouldn’t be given more time, but if come the summer we’ve finished 7/8th or worse and won nothing - I’m struggling to see a scenario where Levy keeps him on - unless there are no better alternatives and we get knocked back by the likes of Iraola. With Potter, Allegri, Southgate and Steve Cooper out of work - I’m not sure Ange has much to worry about at the moment - possibly harsh on Allegri
The difference between Arteta and Ange, and I have demonstrated this numerous times, is that Arsenel never went backwards. Not at all. He took over for MW 13 in the 19/20 season. They were in 8th. They finished 8th on 56 points.
20/21 they finished 8th. 61 points.
21/22 they finished 5th. 69 points
22/23 they finished 2nd. 84 points
23/24 they finished 2nd. 89 points.
Season on season they have improved.
That's why he has been afforded the time he has. And he also seems to be learning on the job. They were defensively frail in his earlier years but seem to have adopted a "hard to beat" attitude in the last year or so. Let's also not forget he's 18 years younger than Ange and in his first job. If a coach is to be given time, then it should be the younger ones.
If you've been a coach for 20+ years you should not need it.
