There has often been a temptation, when assessing Arsenal’s true title credentials, to lean forward and look at the road ahead as such a significant level of improvement is, surely, certain to slide away. Most victories for Mikel Arteta’s team are viewed through this prism: another hefty obstacle is on the horizon, so best to temper those sunny outlooks for now.
Yet on a night when Newcastle United seemingly stopped Arsenal’s run, and the chance to open up a ten-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, perhaps a glance in the rear-view mirror and a moment of reflection is more appropriate. Only eight months separated Arsenal’s bitterly battled, hard-fought goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night and the trip to Tyneside that ended in an even greater frustration.
Arsenal’s target in May was quite a lot lower: qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2015-16 was within their sights until Eddie Howe’s men battered and bullied Arteta’s into submission, leading to successive defeats and a surrendering of that gilded fourth-place position, to Tottenham Hotspur of all teams. So incensed was Granit Xhaka that day, he called out his team-mates. “If someone is not ready for this pressure like today then stay at home,” Xhaka said. “You can’t come here and perform like this.”
And so the visit of an even more invigorated and emboldened Newcastle to north London, in a meeting of the Premier League’s overachievers, offered a barometer on which to measure how far they had come. Two points dropped is a setback in a title race against a typically relentless Manchester City, sure, but the presence of Howe and his men meant this could be viewed through a wider lens. One that took in the words of Xhaka and his warnings from May.
One of the main targets of the midfielder had been junior members of the team, and there was no greater mismatch on the field than the seemingly factory-made back-four of Newcastle up against the diminutive Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka. Dan Burn looked like he should have been marking Saka’s PE coursework rather than racing after him down the right-flank in north London, awkwardly watching the 21-year-old dip under his armpit.
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Ultimately, it was Newcastle’s passionate following that celebrated at the final whistle as the best defence in the league kept the second-highest scorers at bay. Compare the statistics to that of the meeting in May and the pessimists departing the pathways outside the Emirates could well take a different view. Where Arsenal had been outplayed in almost every statistic available in the defeat last season, this time they were the more adventurous and positive side.
Newcastle were forced to retreat in the second half and defend with an even more meticulous approach as Arsenal ventured forward. Where once they wilted against opposition as daunting as Newcastle, Arteta’s team now stand up with the character of a team that believes the title is achievable. That was illustrated through Nketiah, whose finishing required sharpening but his attitude proved impeccable.
This was a rare start for the Arsenal academy product after the arrival of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City in the summer. Jesus, along with Oleksandr Zinchenko, has injected a winning mentality into Arteta’s side. Without Jesus, Nketiah refused to be cowed into submission by Newcastle’s imposing centre halves of Fabian Schär and Sven Botman. Nketiah felt the full force of Schär’s shoulder in the opening seconds but refused to be bullied. He pushed and pulled, hustled and harried, and was almost rewarded with a late winner which would have been deserved. This was far from an easy night for the best defence in the Premier League.
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Jesus may not have been present on the pitch but fellow new recruits were, and the ultimate difference between the Arsenal of then and now is personnel. Thomas Partey, Zinchenko and William Saliba were not involved in May but have all helped alter the tactical possibilities and personality of this Arsenal side. Saliba brings a certain serenity to defence, Zinchenko can join the midfield from left back, Xhaka is freed to roam forward with the protection of Partey in the centre of the park. Here was the evolution in front of our eyes.
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Pessimists among the Emirates crowd may have experienced a familiar sense of doom leaving the north London club on a dreary, drizzly evening. The visit of an invigorated Newcastle had been widely considered only the first step in a six-week schedule seen as the ultimate test of Arsenal’s ability to remain on top of the pile. Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and champions City are to come. Would an Arsenal collapse accompany them?
Yet Newcastle was not the significant setback it seemed but a seismic improvement of a team that would have submitted months earlier. Whatever the challenges ahead, whoever the opposition, the new-found belief at the Emirates is that it can be overcome. You don’t need to look too far back to realise that.
