Arsenal display rare composure in latest evidence of rapid progress under Mikel Arteta
In the wake of such a win, it may seem surprising that thoughts turned to a defeat, but Mikel Arteta feels the two are fundamentally connected.
The Arsenal manager was discussing the opening-day defeat to Brentford, and how different the team looked to now. The reality was they seemed in disarray.
Arteta’s future was even being questioned, especially as that performance continued into the next two games with bad defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City.
It was easy to imagine Arsenal imploding.
But they didn’t. They actually kept very cool, and dug in. Arteta described the period as a “game changer”, where they showed their character.
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That could similarly be sensed in this latest match against Brentford, a commanding 2-1 win that should have been so much worse for Thomas Frank’s team.
Arsenal battered them. There were long periods where they just had Brentford penned in around their own area.
The only thing missing from a thoroughly comprehensive display in the first half was a goal.
And while it was only Brentford, sure, it was also the sort of game that could really have got to Arsenal in the past.
As with that opening stage of the season, it was easy to imagine them getting frustrated with the failure to score, losing momentum and initiative, and then leaving themselves subject to a counter.
Emile Smith Rowe celebrates scoring for Arsenal
It wouldn’t have been a surprise. There probably would have been a red card thrown in for good measure, too, perhaps serving as the catalyst for it all.
That didn’t happen, though.
Instead, Arsenal again showed a rare composure. They also showed something else.
They put the foot on Brentford’s throat. They stepped it up, displaying a thoroughly mature assurance in how they eventually forced their way through.
That was what was all the more admirable about the display, given their youth, and how they are evolving.
It was just one of those matches where there was never any sense whatsoever they might not win. They were that in command.
They made sure. There were no errors.
That may be all the more relevant, because the race for the top four has so far been defined by errors. It has actually been wild.
A Tottenham Hotspur managed by Antonio Conte pulled out a shock win at Man City but have been dropping points so often, while a Manchester United squad filled with Champions League-level stars seem unable to raise it after their chaotic win at Leeds.
Mikel Arteta congratulates Bukayo Saka
It is of course possible that Arteta may end up as good a coach as Conte, but he doesn’t have his CV or his experience, so Arsenal don’t yet have that authority. They don’t have anywhere near the individual quality of Manchester United, either.
But could it be that this basic competence about the team proves the difference in the Champions League race? Do Arsenal now have something their rivals don’t?
It perhaps says something they didn’t even get a player sent off here. Instead, Gabriel Magalhaes was the picture of solidity at the back, while Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe radiated a new vibrancy up front.
This represents another step in the team’s evolution. It isn’t that long ago when they looked so flat and prescribed in attack. They are now all angles and movement, and anything but predictable.
Arteta naturally didn’t want to make too many predictions about how the season might pan out.
The Spaniard said: “There is a long way to go. But we are a little bit closer today because we won our game. It is what we have to do. You can see with the results how tough it is to win in this league.
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“So we need to go on Thursday again, prepare very well, against Wolves it is going to be a really difficult match. We need to perform well to win and play better and better and better, that’s the aim. We cannot look too far. Things change very quickly.”
Arsenal themselves are proof of that.
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