It doesn’t matter that people still think Manchester City are favourites to win the Premier League. They’re third, eight points from the summit.
It doesn’t matter that Martin Odegaard’s game-changing assist was nothing other than a terribly dragged shot which just happened to end up in the path of Bukayo Saka.
All that matters is that Arsenal are top of the Premier League. Still. By seven points.
Merry Christmas everyone.
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The Gunners’ 3-1 win over West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night was one of those you identify at the end of a title-winning season as THE moment. Arsenal had been slow and ponderous. They’d had an early goal ruled out. They conceded a penalty, then had one of their own overturned by Var. It was the ultimate ‘one of those nights’ night. Until it wasn’t.
Said Benrahma’s first-half penalty after William Saliba had clipped Jarrod Bowen – only slightly, but absolutely enough – had the Emirates anxious. But Mikel Arteta’s men pounced on Lady Luck to perform a second-half rally.
Odegaard’s dreadful shot was going a mile wide to the right of goal but for Saka’s off-the-ball run. The England star collected it gladly and slotted past Lukasz Fabianski. Five minutes later Gabriel Martinelli was belting the ball inside Fabianski’s near post for Arsenal’s second goal. The hosts were ahead, the supporters were ebullient, and the returning Arsene Wenger was having a merry old time.
The Frenchman was making his first appearance at the north London venue since waving goodbye to the club in May 2018. For much of the match it felt like he was bearing witness to a recreation of his latter-day Gunners, riddled with their frustrating inconsistencies. Instead, it turned out this was a reminder of his earlier iteration of Arsenal. The one that kept coming back, that didn’t lie down.
From 2-1 down to Liverpool, a 4-2 win. Middlesbrough 3-1 up at Highbury only to be downed 5-3. Even on the final day at their old ground, they trailed Wigan Athletic 2-1 before a Thierry Henry hat-trick sent them off into the sunset in style. This was part of their make-up. This was what ‘being Arsenal’ used to be all about.
Maybe it is again. Certainly it was here. By the time Eddie Nketiah was taking Odegaard’s pass – a crisp, deliberate one this time – to spin his marker and slam home a third the game had long felt dead. When this Arsenal are in this mood, who’s to stop them?
City? They still have a bit of ground to make up, albeit there’s over half a season to go. Newcastle United? They’re in the form of their lives and rumour has it they have a bit of cash to chuck around these days. But this is Arsenal we’re talking about, and not in the way of recent seasons.
This is Arsenal, who never know when they’re beaten. This is Arsenal, full of players with belief in the unit which believed in them. This is Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta living out all of the cliches that were uttered three years ago about him being a disciple of Pep Guardiola. He’s really got them going, has the fiery, fidgety, big-hearted leader of a team which is quietly going around changing everyone’s preconceptions.
This is what it means to be Arsenal now. They’re seven points clear of the rest of the Premier League, and they're not about to lie down at the first sign of trouble.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
