Two hundred and thirty six days and counting. That is how long the 2003/04 Premier League Champions have been at the top of the table since the commencement of the 2022/23 season.
The last two results have raised eyebrows about Mikel Arteta’s team: back-to-back draws against an off-colour Liverpool team and another against a very poor West Ham United side.
The consensus is that, the Gunners will crumble under the pressure in the title race – but is that really on the cards?
A majority of pundits and high-profile former players seem to believe that City will eventually get their hands on the Premier League trophy in May.
Unlike Arsenal who have stumbled in the past couple of weeks, the current defending champions have chained together 10 consecutive wins in all competitions at the time this was published.
There is the expectation that Arsenal’s inexperience will catch up with them and that they will fall away when the pressure really starts to build during the final weeks of the season.
But one place where you will hear no such suggestion is at Arsenal itself.
Not from Mikel Arteta, not from his coaching staff and certainly not from the players.
They truly believe they can win the ultimate, and instead of fearing a repeat of last season’s late collapse, they are instead using it as motivation.
A number of factors, I think will propel the Gunners to clinch the title this season are outlined below:
“The scars of last year”
It is about learning lessons, as Aaron Ramsdale explained following a 4-0 win against Everton at the Emirates on March 1.
“I think what’s driving us on is the scars of last year,” the goalkeeper said, while shedding some light on what life is like behind the scenes at Arsenal right now.
“No one has forgotten about what happened.
After a near faultless first half of the season, Arsenal endured its first real wobble in the month of March when they went three league games without a win.
That run culminated in a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Manchester City, one that saw Arteta’s young side getting knocked off the top spot for the first time since the third week of the season.
Many predicted that the Gunners would not be able to recover from that snag and that their title challenge would crumble, allowing City to pull away.
But Arsenal went on to win three games in a row after that initial blip restoring a five-point lead in the process.
Pressure? What pressure?
Again, it’s about learning from previous experiences.
Maybe last season that loss of form would have ended their hopes, but this team is different – as they have proved time and time again over the course of the current campaign.
There is a fearlessness about Arsenal this season that emanates from the sufferings they have been through as a group over the past few years.
If they are feeling any pressure, they are certainly not showing it. However, complacency has crept in at the least expected moments as evidenced in their collapse against West Ham United in a game where they were comfortably up by 2 goals after just 10 minutes.
That result combined with a similar collapse against Liverpool a few days prior where they were up by two goals but allowed the Reds to equalize have blown the title race wide open.
The Hammers had just won 2 of their last 29 Premier League games against Arsenal(D5,L22) winning 2-0 away in August 2015 and a 1-0 home win in January 2019.
Again, the Gunners are the only team yet to lose a Premier League game when they score the first goal this season, winning 18 and drawing 3.
With these records, all in the favour of Arsenal, many thought it was going to be a walk in the park, coupled with West Ham’s bad form under David Moyes this season.
Certainly, that was not the narrative for Mikel Arteta, leaving the London Stadium with only a point.
Winners have been added
Arsenal have an average of 24.4 years which makes the Gunners the youngest squad in the Premier League this season.
Despite the inexperience, winners have been added to give the team championship DNA.
Brazilian Striker Gabriel Jesus and Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zinchenko are multiple Premier League title winners, while Italy’s Jorginho has won the Champions League and Euro 2020 in recent years. The Italian has seen it all at the blue side of London, the ups and downs.
That experience should prove vital in Arsenal’s dressing room as the pressure starts to increase. These players will need to step up and take the bull by the horn when it matters.
Pressure is nothing new to the rest of the squad. Ramsdale, for example, has been involved in relegation scraps with Bournemouth and Sheffield United.
This might be a different type of pressure, but it’s pressure nonetheless.
The Saka factor
Arsenal also have the unique weapon of a better and more mature Bukayo Saka to help try and get them over the line this season.
The England international has now scored 12 league goals, however his huge penalty miss against the Hammers may have a profound effect on the team’s title hunt.
He also has 10 assists, which means only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane have more direct goal involvements than the 21-year-old this season.
Arsenal now have 7 games to go, starting with a home game against struggling Southampton on April 21.
Will they crumble again? Only time will tell.
It is evident that the pep talk from Mikel Arteta to his players from now till the end of the season will be to just keep winning.
However, the painful lessons they have learned from last season should put them in a far better place to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
Of course, there is the huge test against reigning Champions, Manchester City on April 26 awaiting them, and every neutral football fanatic at the Etihad Stadium.
It is mentor vs mentee, a lot will be determined from the clash. Do the Gunners have the mental toughness and ability to go all the way?
With games against Newcastle United, Chelsea and Brighton still to come the team’s mental fortitude will be pushed to its limit if they are to win their first title in close to two decades.
The next few weeks should be fun and revealing.