Gladiator II might be out in the cinemas but it was the Emirates Stadium that sounded like a true-to-life colosseum every time Arsenal won a corner on Wednesday.
The Gunners put Manchester United to the sword in rather archaic fashion with two set-piece goals, the visitors unable to deal with the onslaught of deliveries from the quadrant. Arsenal bullied the ball into the net and left Ruben Amorim with his hands up in the air.
Set-piece mastermind Nicolas Jover has got the thumbs up from Mikel Arteta and the rest of the fanbase. The Emirates has become a fortress in its own right under emperor Arteta.
Arsenal have lost just twice at home in the Premier League since the start of last season, which increases to just four times since the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign. The paying match-goers are playing their part.
Those in home seats rose to an ovation every time a corner was earned against United, who easily could have conceded more. Arsenal had a number of key players missing from the line-up, including two defenders.
Gabriel Magalhaes is seen as the biggest aerial threat out of the backline while Riccardo Calafiori was the only other defender to have scored this season. How ironic, then, that Jurrien Timber and William Saliba were the ones who got the goals against United.
It is undeniable that Arsenal suffer when Martin Odegaard is out of the side but the team is meanwhile showing that they can still pull off results when other key stars are unavailable. The goal burden is being shared around too.
Arsenal have had 15 different scorers this season, none of whom have reached 10 goals yet. That is a positive.
At the same time, without wanting to enrol into the ‘celebration police’, Arsenal will know not to get too carried away by the result. United have stalled this season and were playing only their fourth game under their new boss.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s draw at Newcastle United means the gap to the top is now only seven points but that is still a large hill to climb. The key will be consistency.
Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori embrace
Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori embrace (Image: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
What Arsenal do not lack is togetherness. This has not always been the case under Arteta, with many calling for his head in 2021 after a 5-0 thrashing by Manchester City, leaving them bottom of the table early on in the 2021/22 campaign.
The Gunners have not since managed to dethrone City in the title race just yet but have made great strides and are perhaps on par with Liverpool in terms of team-and-supporter relationship. Their internal camaraderie is strong, too.
The injured Calafiori was spotted sitting with the squad, just behind the bench, during the win on Wednesday. He was quick to take to the pitch and congratulate his colleagues after full-time, not wanting to miss out on the post-match cheer.
Bukayo Saka, the corner courier, gave him a warm embrace soon after the final shrill, with the Italian looking to have settled in well in North London. It may be colder than Bologna, but Arsenal must keep their cool in this unpredictable title race.
Calafiori knows well that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Arsenal won’t be invincible this season but they must be gladiators if they are going to overthrow their rivals.