Arsenal were mocked for years for lacking strength and mentality, but their 2-1 win over Chelsea showed just how much Mikel Arteta has changed the character of the club.
Arsenal spent enough years being told exactly what was wrong with them.
Gary Neville looked at Arsene Wenger's side in 2015 and saw a team short of the qualities he associated with champions. He spoke about “power, character and a winning urge”, questioned whether Arsenal had enough strength and eventually arrived at a fairly simple conclusion from his own time at Manchester United.
“Find a way to win. Do what it takes.”
The names may have changed over the years, but the criticism of the Gunners stayed the same.
Brentford's 2-0 win over Arsenal on the opening night of the 2021/22 season produced perhaps the most memorable example. Jamie Carragher called them “weak” and “bullied”, adding that it had been “men against boys”. Neville thought Brentford had physically messed Arsenal around.
The Gunners are the opposite of that side now, and with it, the criticism has changed.
The transformation has been about more than just adding a few bigger centre-backs into the mix. Arteta has slowly changed what he wants from his players, and Arsenal have built a squad to match.
Declan Rice has been a significant part of that change. A commanding presence who has helped rewrite Arsenal’s DNA alongside William Saliba and Gabriel at the spine of the team. By last season, you couldn’t miss the difference.
Arsenal didn’t just win the Premier League. They outran their opponents in 35 of their first 37 games, even though they kept the ball more than most. They ground out eight 1-0 wins and turned set-pieces into a weapon, scoring a record 18 goals from corners.
This was a club once called too soft. Now, they’re difficult to play against in more ways than one.
Sunday’s win over Chelsea was just the latest example.
Conceding after just 77 seconds could have brought back all those old doubts. Instead, not a single head dropped. Arsenal chased the game, levelled through Kai Havertz, and won it thanks to Martin Odegaard.
Despite the goals that turned the fixture around and won it, other moments probably said more about where this team is now. Ezri Konsa spent much of his first Arsenal start competing directly with Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers. One perfectly timed tackle on his former Aston Villa teammate brought an enormous reaction from the Emirates, and Arteta later called it a “very English tackle”.
That wasn’t gamesmanship. It was just a defender relishing the physical side of his job.
Declan Rice’s late challenge on Rogers was a different story. Chelsea were pushing for an equaliser, Rogers tried to burst through the middle, and Rice cut him off before the attack could start.
Rice probably should have seen yellow. But that doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t have made the move that he did.
Rice knew what he was risking with that foul. If he got booked, the Gunners would have to see out the game with him on a yellow. In the end, the referee let it go, and Rogers was the one who saw a card for his reaction.
That’s the key point here. Arsenal’s players do their jobs. It’s up to the officials to do theirs. If Rice commits a tactical foul, book him. If a player wastes time, punish him. If somebody crosses the line into serious foul play, send him off.
But Arsenal don’t have to police themselves.
Taking those risks is what successful teams have always done. It’s exactly what Neville meant all those years ago when he told Arsenal to do whatever it takes.
The irony? As soon as Arsenal found that edge, it became a problem again.
Manchester City players talked about Arsenal's “dark arts” after the 2-2 draw at the Etihad in 2024, when Arteta's team spent a second half with 10 men trying everything they could to protect a lead.
By January 2025, Neville himself was describing Arsenal as “very streetwise” and “a tougher team now”. He meant it as praise.
There will always be something for opponents to complain about. No one liked defending Arsenal’s corners last season. Few relish going up against Rice for a full 90 minutes, or dealing with Gabriel at set-pieces. Chelsea definitely didn’t enjoy much of what happened on Sunday.
That doesn’t mean every Arsenal action is above criticism. Rice should have been booked, and the Gunners will do it again throughout the season and probably be penalised for the fact.
What’s gone is the sense that Arsenal might be too nice to handle the tough stuff.
Arteta’s team can play, but they can also run, scrap, defend their box and make life miserable for opponents when it matters. But most importantly, they’re willing to challenge the parameters of the game. Last season, they finally understood what it meant to have those qualities over a title-winning campaign.
People used to wonder if Arsenal had that in them. The game against Chelsea yet again showed they did. What poor refereeing shouldn’t be confused with is whether it's Arsenal’s fault; the gamesmanship may be deliberate, but they know the risks they run.