David Sneyd
JOY AND HAPPINESS no longer matter for Arsenal this season.
It is all about results. About winning.
We’ve reached 4 December and already the threshold for simply getting the job done has been met.
From this point on Paul Merson is only ever a surprise draw away from his next viral meltdown moment for Sky Sports.
Win ugly and often and by any means necessary. That is the only sign of champions from here on in.
Thirteen games into the season and how Arsenal actually play is of no concern to anybody – expect maybe some of those supporters who have shelled out just shy of €2,500 for ‘centre upper’ season tickets at the Emirates Stadium.
A slow-ish start to this campaign – by the standards set previously by Mikel Arteta – is the reason for this desperate outlook.
Usually, it’s in those final, agonising few months of a season when all decorum is lost, when enjoyment and entertainment from April to May is gleefully abandoned on the proviso a string of 1-0 wins justify the pact. With two thirds of the season to go, self-respect and decency are already out the window.
Arsenal may still be second, level with Chelsea on 25 points and six clear of tonight’s opponents Manchester United, but they trail leaders Liverpool by nine.
The Gunners are playing catch-up to such a degree that they simply have to keep winning to stand any chance of reining in Arne Slot’s side.
There is no thrill to this chase yet, only anxiety at the perils of the situation they find themselves in.
At this stage of 2023/24, Arsenal had won nine of their opening 13 games, lost just once and drawn the other three. They were top after 13 games but even if they had repeated that output this time around there would still be a gap of four points to the pace setters.
That is an indication that Liverpool, who are embracing the post Jurgen Klopp era, might just be embarking on the kind of relentless run that has become a necessary trademark of any league-winning side.
Arsenal have come close and fallen agonisingly short over the last two seasons. With Manchester City faltering to such an extent that Pep Guardiola has resorted to hailing past successes, there would be a fitting irony if the team that has fought so hard to try and keep pace also falter because of the toll their standards have taken.
Back-to-back wins over Nottingham Forest and West Ham United were welcome, and also achieved in a manner that should alleviate any concern about burnout – eight goals scored and two conceded (in a first half against the Hammers when they already netted five times).
 Bukayo Saka celebrates. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
With Bukayo Saka thriving, captain Martin Odegaard returning to his best and the defensive structure feeling the benefit of the control that is returning in front of them, Arsenal should be able to impose themselves on United and extend that winning streak to three.
It’s vital that they do, for reasons already outlined.
December proved a tricky month last season, losing three of seven games and drawing with Liverpool two days before Christmas.
This time around the fixture list has thrown up five league games – at home to United, Everton and Ipswich Town, and to away trips in London at Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Seven wins in succession would match the run from 20 January to 4 March earlier this year.
That should at least provide Arsenal with a more optimistic platform to begin 2025, but whether it will be enough to close the gap will also be dependent on Liverpool’s festive performances.
Tonight, though, Arsenal and United find themselves in contrasting situations.
Under Ruben Amorim, United are at an embryonic stage where a snatch and grab win won’t provide the same signs of life as a more confident, coherent performance that could still ultimately provide no points.
United fans, and the people that appointed the Portuguese, want to feel like they can faithfully embrace the kind of change in direction that will eventually bring them to the same level as Arsenal.
As they’ll see up close tonight that is when the focus will shift.
Arteta is dealing with that pressure and Amorim is the one just starting off on his pursuit of it.