Arsenal are marching on. Yet another win in the Premier League more-or-less brushed away the remnants of disappointment from the midweek loss to Borussia Dortmund. We’re top of the league, two points ahead of second-placed Liverpool, and a whopping eight points above current title holders, Manchester United. Plenty was learnt by myself from Saturday’s game. Here are three things I took note of from Saturday:-
1. Resilience. Character. Fight. Saturday displayed all the buzzword’s…
Crystal Palace made it tough for us. They knew exactly how to stop us playing in the areas we like to. They clogged the channels with men, defended the width of their penalty area well and disrupted our slick, ideally one-touch, passing football with great enthusiasm and success, in particular in the first-half. An Arsenal team of two-or-three years ago would’ve slipped to a disheartening loss, one which would comprehensively batter the wind out of the sails, suck all life from the club and its fans as well as giving Tim Payton an absolute field day.
That didn’t happen. While overall we were the better side, we had to fight to get the victory. Supposed title contenders have to do that – winning games unfashionably, when things aren’t quite going to plan, when things fall against you. Factor in the sending off of captain Mikel Arteta after 65-minutes and it makes the victory even more impressive. Lets not kid ourselves, though: this fight and belief which the team displayed on Saturday isn’t new. We saw it last season, particularly in the nerve-shattering climax to the campaign. The current group of players may not be Arsène Wenger’s most talented, but it’s almost certainly one of his most willing, hard-working and focused amalgamation of players.
2. The Wonder of Wojciech
“What a save from Wojciech Szczęsny!” were the words which billowed from my television set at around quarter-past-two on Saturday afternoon, as Mile Jedinak pulled his hair out, incredulous as to how Szczęsny flung his right-hand up to deny the imposing Palace captain a thumping equaliser and, in turn, earn Arsenal the three points. Szczęsny has been a revelation this season. His omission from the first-team squad which recorded a memorable win at the Allianz Arena last season has taken the desired effect. He’s worked on his game over the Summer, knuckled down and come back an improved goalkeeper as a result.
This season, Wojciech Szczęsny has been a standout performer in the league-topping side – earning plenty of plaudits from fans and pundits alike. He’s more assured under the high ball, usually plucking it from the air with consummate ease. When facing efforts from range, his footwork is much crisper, much steadier, much more effective. His decision making has been impeccable, while his often ropy distribution – particularly from the restart – has taken a notable turn for the better. Wojciech Szczęsny has always had the attributes to become a world-class goalkeeper – his new-found focus is helping putting them into practice.
3. Gnabry’s getting good
He isn’t there yet, but with every outing, with every experience of playing in the best league in the World, he will get there – ‘there’ being the utopia of having fulfilled his prodigious potential. With every minute he plays, the more confidence he garners in his own ability. His seamless substitution into the side just eight-minutes in speaks volumes about his quality and confidence within himself. The way in which he won the penalty, nonchalantly performing a ‘chop’ to change direction instantly before his standing leg was sweeped from beneath him, was impressively simplistic, and just a snippet of the flair he so often showcased at youth level.
He marries great technical ability with an honest, down-to-earth mentality – a concoction of traits which stand him in good stead throughout his development. Simply training with the first-team will be of excellent use during his development. He’s surrounded by influential individuals, one who will be more than willing to give their advice – Mesut Özil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker notably.
Tuesday’s Capital One Cup clash with Chelsea will, almost definitely, see Serge Gnabry start from the outset. It’s a wonderful stage upon which a talent such as Serge Gnabry can showcase his much-hyped ability, to show why everyone involved with Arsenal rates him so highly and why Arsène Wenger’s rewarded him a new “long-term” contract.
There were plenty of positives from the weekend’s game: we maintained the two-point gap between ourselves and second-place Liverpool. This coming month will tell us a lot about this group of players. They’ve done well so far – it’s now time to set our title credentials in stone…
Do you think Arsenal can win the title this season? Leave your opinions about the piece, and your thoughts on that question, below
