As Arsenal once again find themselves top of the table, four points clear of second-placed Bournemouth, Arteta reflected on that defining night when asked if this could finally be the season they go all the way.
"At the end, you learn that the margins at the end to achieve it or not are multiple," he said. "So it can be that an opposition player is one against one against the keeper, he scores that goal, you are champion. The other keeper saves it you are not champion. It can be other injuries, it can be other decisions, it can be a mistake of mine, it can be that many factors that we cannot control that outcome or we can control it while we can do the best. That's it."
Arteta learnt through heartbreak that perfection isn’t always rewarded. However, this season, the Gunners have been in fine form and look perfectly in control of their destiny, at least for now. But he refuses to get carried away.
"So it's a lot of factors that have a lot of factors that have to go your way. You can do a lot of great things, and still a lot of things have to go your way, and the injuries and the players that you have to play, and they have to be there, and the personal lives have to be perfect because if not, it can unbalance," he went on a rant. "It's so many things guys, and it's still so so long, and we've seen already the turnaround in the league and going to the Champions League is the same. All the leagues are the same. We are not really in a specific context at the moment, and let's focus day by day."