Goals from set-pieces. Clean sheets. Rivals stumbling. For the first week in years I truly believe Arsenal will win the Premier League
Ever since William Gallas sulked on the St Andrews turf in February 2008 there has been little to suggest Arsenal boast the mentality to get over the Premier League line.
In one protest sitting, after the Gunners blew a lead at Birmingham City, the Arsenal of my childhood – the peak Arsene Wenger years when Thierry Henry glided across the pitch and Patrick Vieira radiated leadership – were replaced by the Arsenal many have come to know: the bridesmaids ripe for mockery.
They have lacked “cojones”, as Troy Deeney famously put it in 2017, and though Arsenal have won five FA Cups since their last Premier League triumph, the near misses in the league have only added to this belief they lack the mindset of title winners.
William Gallas' sitting on the pitch and refusing to leave at full-time is one of the maddest moments during Wenger's reign pic.twitter.com/igM3uN6cjb
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 15, 2020
Even at the start of this season, confidence was wavering. Finishing second to Manchester City twice only to then finish behind Liverpool would have hurt any club, and defeat at Anfield on 31 August only increased scrutiny around the big-game mentality of Mikel Arteta’s side.
But with each passing week since they are transforming this season’s narrative, and the combination of Tuesday’s annihilation of Atletico Madrid with Sunday’s hard-fought victory over Crystal Palace confirmed something I have truly not believed for years: that this really is Arsenal’s year.
The reasons why are pretty clear. They are top of the Premier League, which is always a good start, while winning on a weekend where Liverpool and Manchester City lost vastly strengthens their hand.
Add to that their set-piece prowess (see: Eberechi Eze’s winner against his old club), their fondness for clean sheets (10 in 13 games this season), and the remarkable depth in this squad (that could soften the blow of Declan Rice hobbling off) and virtually all the ingredients are there.
So it looks to be down to belief, a question-mark which will linger for months until they either get the job done or throw it away.
They were, after all, top for 248 days in 2022-23 and held an eight-point lead in March of that season, only to finish five points behind Manchester City.
That capitulation will be on their minds, but if you saw how Gabriel celebrated a piece of defending late on against Palace on Sunday, then you realise they have may well have conquered this obstacle already.
A towering Gabriel is a far cry from that distraught Gallas 17 years ago. And this Arsenal looks to be very different to any we have witnessed in recent years. The Arsenal of old, reincarnated.
Only player is capable of stopping Arsenal
Four points clear. Bournemouth below them. City six points adrift and Liverpool behind Manchester United.
Arsenal could hardly have asked for a better set of results this weekend, and already it is difficult not look ahead to decipher where they could come undone.
There are trips to high-flying Sunderland and Chelsea in November, as well as a north London derby at the Emirates, but more significantly this unpredictable start to the campaign has shown that a change in fortunes for one of Arsenal’s rivals must happen to stop Arteta’s men.
Liverpool have lost four straight in the league and are leaking goals, conceding almost five times that of Arsenal’s enviable rate – three to 14 – while chinks in City’s armour reemerged at Aston Villa on Sunday.
City had not lost since August, going nine unbeaten before Matty Cash scored the winner for Villa, with Erling Haaland’s late effort ruled out for offside.
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Haaland, who has 15 goals in 12 club games this season, is central to City’s prospects, and provided he remains fit and firing then Pep Guardiola’s side will always have a chance. They are proven hunters, thriving in this role, and despite their pitfalls the past 12 months, recent signs – Villa Park aside – suggest they have improved on last term.
So having been to Anfield, a trip to the Etihad is the toughest left for Arsenal.
They head there on 18 April – give or take a day for broadcasting – and will have five league games to go after that. It could be the weekend 22 years of waiting wash away in 90 minutes, although at this rate, they could be coasting before the jitters even kick-in.