BRENTFORD, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 25: Arsenal’s Kai Havertz celebrates scoring his side’s first goal … [+]
On a frosty night in West London Arsenal revelled in a 0-1 away win against a stubborn Brentford side that summoned all the cliches about ‘difficult wins earning titles.’
The Gunners took all three points despite not being at their best against the Bees so it was no surprise to hear pundits post-game dusting off time-honored expressions to describe the victory.
“It sends a statement out to Manchester City and Liverpool,” former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell told the BBC in reference to the two title challengers sharing the points earlier in the same day.
Having its two biggest rivals play each other had the added benefit of allowing the Gunners to reclaim the top spot for a week at least, a point clear of the rest.
But there is no getting away from the fact this season the adjustments made by Mikel Arteta to the starting 11 which so impressively finished second in the last campaign have not quite delivered the barnstorming performance of the year before.
The fluency that saw the North London side race to the best start in Premier League history in 2022/23 has been replaced by a blend of consequential results and unfortunate missteps.
Late wins against Manchester City and Manchester United have demonstrated a depth of character, but disappointing performances versus Chelsea and Newcastle United have checked the side’s momentum.
What must give Mikel Arteta hope is the fact that the bold calls he made are starting to pay dividends.
Most obvious is the faith in much-criticized Kai Havertz who proved the matchwinner against Brentford.
“When you have challenges and you have to overcome them, it makes the moments much more,” said Mikel Arteta of the German midfielder.
“If things came easy, he wouldn’t have got the reception he got today with everybody hugging him and telling him how much we love him.
“It is because he is adorable and a joy to work with.”
Adorable or not, there’s no getting away from the fact that Havertz has been far from a revelation in North London.
Having not quite taken to the midfield role Arteta has cast him in so far, the man himself acknowledged that he’d been trying to put the collective pursuit ahead of personal ambition.
“These late winners are nice and to celebrate in front of the fans was a good feeling,” Havertz said post-game.
“I have tried to put my ego aside and the team is the important thing. We played well and deserved to win.”
‘Level higher than ever’
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 25: Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta after the Premier League match … [+]
Arsenal fans almost universally have a deep trust in Arteta, the man who gave them the first title challenge in more than 15 years last season.
And in the former assistant to Pep Guardiola, the club has undoubtedly got one of the game’s most exciting young managers.
The game against Brentford represented Arteta’s 200th at the helm and the victory gave him a record of 116 victories.
Such a record is all the more impressive when you compare it to the last two Arsenal managers to achieve such a feat.
Arsene Wenger managed 111 wins over the same number of games while George Graham achieved 107.
Both those men claimed league titles within that period something which has so far eluded Arteta, but as the Spaniard pointed out the parameters within which they are working are very different.
“What has happened in the last five years is unprecedented,” Arteta said a couple of weeks back
“It never happened with the amount of points and level of the teams.”
It’s a fair point, back in Wenger and Graham’s eras the league championship could be achieved by teams who won around 70% of their games, now the figure is nearly 80%.
This reduction in the margin for error has come remarkably against an increase in standards.
As Arteta pointed out before the Gunners faced Newcastle United, there have never been more elite sides vying for Champions League soccer than there are today.
As well as the aforementioned Magpies, title challengers will be tested against Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, giving any wannabe champion 12 high-risk games to navigate.
“The amount of teams with that level that is increasing and increasing,” said Arteta
“That’s why comparing to the past in this league is a waste of time.
“It’s very different to what it used to be, and that puts the demands of what we do every single day in a different scope.”
Arteta can take heart from the fact that in the five games against the league’s best sides so far it has lost just once, versus Newcastle, winning two and drawing the other pair.
To increase its chances of earning its first Premier League title in nearly two decades more points will need to be earned in those high-pressure games.