There was no hiding the fact Arsenal looked nervous in the final 10 minutes of last weekend’s win over Wolves. Heavy favourites going into the game, they spent much of it huffing and puffing, clamming up between two own goals that bookended a prolonged period of, for want of a better word, panic.
Even though they got the win, the press had a field day, suggesting the Gunners were beginning to feel the pressure. And in that moment, they did get the yips, unable to keep hold of the ball against a side threatening to become one of the Premier League era’s worst.
The fans were unimpressed, the manager likewise, and the players themselves knew they had fallen short of the required level. Arteta called for a reset, handing everyone 48 hours off. You sensed he needed the break too. With time to reflect, he was able to reframe the situation his players find themselves in. Being chased by a Manchester City side dispatching opponents with ease may not be comfortable, but Arteta wants his players to embrace it.
“Enjoy the process of winning,” was his message after [Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Everton](https://arseblog.news/2025/12/report-everton-0-1-arsenal-inc-goal/) – Arsenal’s first Premier League away win since early November.
While the Gunners again struggled for attacking rhythm, they at least showed the composure to wrestle back control of a second half that threatened to descend into chaos. Unlike last weekend, they put their foot on the ball and played. David Raya set the tone, knowing when to move the ball quickly and when to slow the game down, with the outfield players following suit.
“At the end of the day, you have to dominate the tempo of the game,” reflected Arteta.
“In order to do that you have to understand what the game requires: when you have to play really fast, when you have to slow the game down. If you provoke the things that you want to provoke with the ball, it’s right.
“But sometimes when you have to be more incisive, more aggressive, you have to speed up the game, and today we had moments that we read that really well and other times that we were a bit hesitant to make the right decision. And that’s something that we can improve.”
In truth, Arsenal should have won by a bigger margin. Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi both struck the woodwork as the game opened up, but without a second-goal cushion, they at least kept Everton at arm’s length.
“With players that are normally in those positions, they’re going to put the ball in the net,” said Arteta.
“But it is what it is, we have to try, we have to continue. The more we insist, the more will happen and the margins will be bigger. And that’s what we have to try to do.”
The result means Arsenal will spend Christmas Day top of the table for the third time in four seasons. Given the title has ended up elsewhere on each occasion, it is hardly a definitive marker – though Arteta believes there is still reason for encouragement.
“What gives me belief and confidence is the level of performance and the consistency of that,” he said at his post-match press conference at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“That’s very, very difficult to do in this league and that means that the team is constantly there.
“Enjoy the process of winning and you’re going to have to go to difficult places, you’re going to have difficult moments, we have dealt with a lot of things already and we are there.
“And what we’re going to do is work for the next game, try to improve and make sure that everybody is with that spirit and energy and enjoying that.”
Tested, unsettled and occasionally uncomfortable, on this occasion Arsenal remembered the basics – not to mention how good they are – and adapted, slowed the game and saw it through.
In a title race defined by fine margins, those habits, tuned by three consecutive near misses, may yet prove decisive.