Arsenal have come out of the international break flying, but Mikel Arteta has issued a challenge to his team.
Consistency is something that every professional sports team craves, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has issued a challenge to his in-form team.
With the Gunners starting the season well before falling into a lull that saw them not win a league game in four attempts, the international break came at the perfect time.
It allowed a host of players to heal from their injuries, most notably Martin Odegaard and now the Gunners have ripped apart Nottingham Forest and Sporting CP in consecutive matches.
But that leaves many wondering why Arsenal can't perform to that level more consistently, and as it turns out, Arteta is wondering the same thing.
"That's what we need to do," Arteta said. "We need to find consistency. You want to be challenging for the big things? You have to be consistent. Win and win again."
A flowing Arsenal move ๐ฎโ๐จ pic.twitter.com/r3Ki7DvcSG
โ Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 27, 2024
With the Gunners now finding their feet after a troubled period, they hope to turn their league form around given they are already nine points behind leaders Liverpool, but perhaps what is on Arsenal's side is time.
Having played just 12 games, and the last few with some stars out, now Arsenal can look to get back to the form that saw them push Manchester City close for the title last season.
But again, that word - consistency.
Due to their four-game streak without a win in the league, the Gunners have little or no margin for error for the next 26 league games. That isn't a favorable position to be in, but that is the bed Arsenal made for itself; now it has to lie in it.
Defender William Saliba also knows that while the Gunners have hit their stride in the last two outings, the most important thing is to keep the foot on the gas pedal.
โThe coach always told us to believe because we are a really good team," Saliba said via arsenal.com. "We had some bad times, but now better times are coming so we have to stick together and keep going like that.โ
So it appears that everyone in the squad now knows what the standard is and the key to Arsenal reeling in Liverpool and going far in Europe is all down to one thing, and one thing only - being consistent.