Barcelona’s squad has been stretched to the limit this season, through a combination of factors. Two players in particular have picked up the slack.
The Blaugrana are probably operating on a slightly shorter squad than they would normally, with the salary limit capping their ability to add depth. In the first partof the season, the defence was hit hard by injuries, as Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Hector Bellerin went down with problems.
In January, Barcelona let Bellerin and Memphis Depay go. In this second part of the campaign, midfield has been the area of concern, with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong missing a number of crucial games.
Gavi has taken on many of those minutes, and in fact only Robert Lewandowski and Marc-Andre ter Stegen have played more minutes than the teenager this season.
So far he has appeared in 41 games, racking up 2,951 minutes, as per Sport. In fact, Gavi has started all but three of Barcelona’s fixtures since the World Cup, only resting for a half against Ceuta in the Copa del Rey, and sitting out Valencia and Manchester United with suspensions.
It does raise questions again about Barcelona’s management of youngsters. While Gavi has so far shown a more robust physique than Pedri, the Canary Islander’s physical issues over the past two seasons should be more than enough warning against over-saturating Gavi’s body with football at this early stage.
Chelsea can follow Mikel Arteta's Arsenal blueprint after Champions League exit
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Chelsea look set to be without Champions League football next season as they sit 11th in the Premier League and were dumped out of the competition by Real Madrid
Chelsea can follow London rivals Arsenal's blueprint next season with the club looking unlikely to qualify for European football this term. The Blues are currently sat 11th in the Premier League - 10 points adrift of the top seven in the table.
Chelsea have endured a disastrous season which was capped off by their exit from the Champions League earlier this week. Lampard has lost all four matches upon his return to Stamford Bridge following Graham Potter's sacking just six months after he replaced Thomas Tuchel.
As Todd Boehly and Co search for a new permanent manager to take charge at the club ahead of next season, they may look to Arsenal's project under Arteta as a reference to entice an elite manager through the doors at Cobham for the 2023/24 campaign. The Gunners had no European football to play for the first time since 1995-96 in Arteta’s second full campaign as a manager.
The north London outfit finished fifth in the 2021/22 season but were allowed to shine away from the pressure of Champions League football - giving them a platform to build on for the following campaign. This has seen the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard improve drastically and help fire Arsenal towards a Premier League title charge.
Chelsea have already followed the Gunners' example by signing young talents that can be developed into world-class players - but they still need to find a manager that can make it work on the pitch in terms of results. Boehly’s solution of throwing money at any and every issue has not worked out this term after the club's £600million transfer spend to achieve nothing more than one of the worst seasons in Chelsea’s history.
An ever increasing wage bill needs to be addressed which suggests it will be another summer of change at Stamford Bridge. The Blues should look at their London rivals' pathway of culling their more senior players as soon as possible and decide on a specific strategy to lead the club forward.