With two wins from as many Premier League matches, it’s shaping up to be yet another positive season for Arsenal.
Having finally ended their agonising wait for the crown, the Gunners are the clear favourites to reign supreme once again. Last night’s victory over Aston Villa, achieved 10 days after their comfortable crushing of Coventry in their opening fixture, was a statement of intent. Manchester City, Hull and Chelsea have also won their opening two fixtures. But it’s Mikel Arteta’s men who are very much the team to beat.
Criticism remains, however. Fans were hoping that, with the shackles off, Arsenal would enthrall this season. Instead, much like Jose Mourinho at Chelsea two decades ago, Arteta has assembled a team that wins at all costs. Certainly, the swashbuckling style of the Arsene Wenger era is now very much a thing of the past. In the here and now, it’s a case of getting the job done and onto the next.
At Villa Park, Arsenal weren’t entertaining. Instead, they were dogged and determined as their defensive resilience paid off.
Arsenal managed just seven shots throughout the night but, crucially, allowed a mere seven in return. They dominated the ball, completed more passes and didn’t concede a single shot on target.
The best teams win. It doesn’t matter how. Arteta knows that. Mourinho knew it then. With a defence this good, and a midfield this impressive, it doesn’t seem to matter that they lack the same attacking stardust as the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Their title triumph last season makes the whole ‘boring’ argument redundant. Quite simply, why should Arteta or the club’s passionate fanbase care?
Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal battled their way past Aston Villa
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Mikel Arteta was all smiles after Arsenal kept Aston Villa at bay on Monday night
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GETTYPretty football is what everybody craves, but doesn’t always produce results. Unless you’re blessed with unlimited funds, it’s also far tougher to assemble a team capable of lighting up the beautiful game.
Yet restraint has become Arsenal’s greatest strength. Arteta has built a side that understands exactly what each match requires and is rarely tempted into unnecessary risk. They can accelerate when the opportunity presents itself, but they are equally comfortable squeezing the life out of an opponent.
That may not inspire the same romance as Wenger’s finest teams, but there is an art to control. Arsenal restrict space, suffocate counter-attacks and force opponents to chase shadows without exposing themselves in the process. Their football is calculated, rather than chaotic.
Jose Mourinho turned Chelsea into champions despite accusations of being ‘boring’
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Villa discovered that on Monday night. They were never overwhelmed, yet never looked remotely capable of changing the direction of the contest either. Arsenal established control and refused to surrender it.
It is precisely what champions do.
The comparison with Mourinho’s Chelsea is therefore fitting. That great side was regularly accused of being boring, yet its defensive authority was extraordinary. Opponents often entered matches knowing that conceding the first goal would effectively end any hope of taking something from the game. As Petr Cech recently explained in a Netflix documentary, Chelsea knew that going 1-0 up would often be enough.
Arsenal are beginning to create that same sense of inevitability. Score against them and the task remains difficult. Fall behind, and it can feel virtually impossible.
There is, admittedly, a legitimate concern hidden beneath the criticism. Defensive excellence can deliver a league title, but Arsenal’s ambitions now extend beyond domestic supremacy. They want to dominate English football and finally conquer Europe, having come so close back in May when Paris Saint-Germain inflicted a painful penalty shootout defeat.
At some stage, perhaps against City, Chelsea or one of the continent’s elite, they will encounter an opponent capable of disrupting their rhythm. They will fall behind. Their defence will be breached. On those occasions, seven shots may not be enough.
Arsenal’s defence is their biggest strength as they look to win the Premier League title once again
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Arteta must therefore ensure control does not become caution. The greatest teams know when to protect a match and when to seize it by the throat. Arsenal cannot always expect a narrow advantage and an immaculate defensive display to carry them through.
That is the challenge of trying to evolve after reaching the summit. Before last season, every Arsenal setback was presented as evidence that they lacked the mentality to become champions. Now they have answered that accusation, the conversation has shifted towards how they win more than ever before.
It is a criticism born partly from their own success, too.
When Arsenal were chasing the crown, substance mattered more than style. Having finally claimed it, some supporters understandably want both. They want the authority of champions combined with the imagination and freedom that defined Wenger’s greatest sides.
Perhaps that will come as the season develops. Arsenal have played only twice and Arteta will know that trophies are not won by peaking in August. Rhythm, confidence and attacking fluency can all grow over time.
For now, however, their foundations look formidable. Two matches have brought two victories, two clean sheets and barely a moment of genuine defensive alarm. Other contenders may possess more individual brilliance, but it is Arsenal’s league to lose. Boring or otherwise, Arteta has constructed the most formidable winning machine in the country.
