“The Gunners are shooting again” for the Daily Mirror, “Arsenal never stops” For the Sunand praise all over the English press this Thursday morning after another successful performance. However, this trip to Bruges looked like a trap, as the Belgian club is capable of destabilizing any European big name when they are in good shape. And Arsenal showed up with a list of absentees as long as an arm, particularly in defense (Gabriel, Saliba, Timber and Calafiori). Which forced Mikel Arteta to line up summer recruit, and clearly usual complementary player in the middle, Christian Norgaard in central defense with Hincapié.
Offensively, he left Bukayo Saka on the bench to line up Noni Madueke, another summer recruit. The clear 3-0 victory, with a double from the latter and a goal from Martinelli, confirmed that the copious transfer window had borne fruit. Arsenal did not tremble, with an additional team, and evaded the traps week after week. We predicted a decisive week for him between November 23 and 30? Arsenal beat Tottenham then Bayern Munich, before following up with a draw at Chelsea. Did we imagine a blow to morale after the defeat in stoppage time at Aston Villa? The Gunners responded with a 3-0 away win in the Champions League.
Returning players and a favorable schedule
So here they are first in the Premier League and first in the Champions League with 3 points ahead of their pursuer Bayern Munich. And the future seems bright for Mikel Arteta, who found one of his offensive assets last night, with the return of Gabriel Jesus, who hit the bar during the 30 minutes spent on the pitch. Despite the absentees and the changing compositions, his team keeps the same state of mind. “We know how difficult the Champions League is, and winning away, especially with so many players absent, makes the victory even sweeter. Currently, it’s about managing situations on defense. Some players were available, but could not play for more than 30 or 45 minutes. Managing this was complicated. But given the mindset of the players, I know that if I ask any of them to play that position, they can do it, and they did a great job.”commented Arteta after the meeting.
Arsenal can therefore calmly approach the new tricky passage that lies ahead. The moment when a title can be lost, with the sequence of meetings at the end of December and Boxing Day. Here again, the London club seems armed quantitatively and qualitatively, while the calendar offers it 4 home matches out of the next 5, against affordable opponents. With only 2 defeats in all competitions (away and with 1 goal difference each time), Arsenal does not want to stop there.
