Mikel Arteta triple tactics gamble pays off to leave Arsenal in driving seat against Atletico | OneFootball

Big calls proven right as Gunners head back to London as firm favourites to reach Champions League final

The juggling act has been exhausting but Mikel Arteta has ensured the balls remain in the air for at least a few days longer yet for Arsenal.

All season the Arsenal manager has insisted the next game is the most important, that there would be no prioritisation of one competition over another.

It took the Gunners to the Carabao Cup final and then within a match of a Wembley return in the FA Cup. Now they are sensing history with the two biggest prizes of them all.

Arsenal have never won the Champions League and it is 22 years since the club last took ownership of the Premier League trophy.

In pursuing both competitions so deep into the season, Arsenal's chances of winning either have been weakened.

The Gunners cannot do what Paris Saint-Germain - and to a lesser extend Bayern Munich - do. Those two clubs are able to treat the autumn and winter months of their domestic campaigns as little more than conditioning opportunities to ensure they are primed for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Declan Rice moved to a deeper role

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Ousmane Dembele has started nine matches in Ligue 1 all season. Martin Zubimendi in his first season in England has started nine Premier League games since mid-February.

Arsenal have had to fight tooth and nail for every point this season and it left Arteta having to consider workload and squad management in a Champions League semi-final.

He and his players must take some of the blame for that. Arsenal have had several opportunities to effectively kill the title race and put Manchester City to bed, which would have allowed them to turn more of a full focus to European matters.

Had Arteta been able to go all in on the Champions League, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka would surely have started against Atletico Madrid.

Instead, with question marks over their fitness and the Arsenal manager needing to have one eye on Fulham's visit on Saturday, the bold call was made to start both on the bench.

That could well have backfired on Arteta. A front three of Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli has regularly been disappointing and there was a real danger of Arsenal falling flat on the big stage.

The visitors, though, were superb in the first half. Madueke looked sharp on the right wing and Gyokeres had one of his better 45 minutes in an Arsenal shirt. He held the ball up well, ran the channels, and emphatically smashed home a penalty.

The attack was helped by the midfield tweak Arteta made, which proved to be the key factor in the first half. Rice was utilised as the deep No6, dropping alongside the centre-backs in possession, while Zubimendi was pushed further up the pitch.

Both players benefitted from that change. Rice was able to run the show on the ball while also providing a shield for the defence, stopping Atletico counters and allowing Arsenal to control possession.

Zubimendi, who has looked exhausted in the last couple of months, did not have the same pressures on him. He did not have to track runners or get involved in Arsenal's build-up and could enjoy the freedom further up the pitch.

Bukayo Saka came off the bench

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The two looked reinvigorated and as fresh as they have done in weeks.

Arsenal were good value for the 1-1 draw and it should probably have been even better, with two controversial penalty decisions going Atletico's way.

This, though, was still a positive night. That result leaves Arsenal as favourites to progress, knowing a win on home soil will be enough to reach the Champions League final.

It was also a performance that boosts their hopes of beating Fulham on Saturday to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka were given only half an hour off the bench and should be fresh, with that particular gamble paying off.

Riccardo Calafiori was not used at all, potentially with Fulham in mind, and Arteta also found a midfield formula that brought far greater control to Arsenal's play.

At this stage, it is just about keeping the balls in the air. The second leg against Atletico is Arsenal's last midweek match of the season, after which squad management will become much easier.

Game by game, a few days at a time, history is drawing nearer for Arsenal.