LONDON -- The days of Arsenal leaving out their highest-paid player in the biggest matches were supposed to be over.
Mikel Arteta could only rue his team's naivety in conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to hand Slavia Prague a 1-1 draw and the advantage at the halfway point of this Europa League quarterfinal tie. Yet surely the bigger issue was his team's profligacy at the opposite end of the pitch, allowing a series of chances to pass them by on a night when clinical finishing could have masked another underwhelming performance.
There was undoubtedly some logic to Arteta's reasoning when explaining why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang didn't start, highlighting the impact a late burst of pace could have on tired legs.