I agree that the modern level of micro makes Age of Empires 2 worse, if even 1400-1500 elo players start to "out micro" Ballistics Crossbow and Mangonel projectiles this becomes to close to other worse RTS where decision making is less important then clicking fast.micro tricks that has accompanied DE is a big contributor to perceptions like this because it makes the core gameplay less interesting overall.
On Arabia at least at my level it's all about walling / MAA plays. I liked Arabia when scout rushing was a reasonably effective strategy but that is long gone.