Arsenal: The resurgence of the missing ingredient

Arsenal’s mood changed when Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s deflected shot looped up and over the stranded Gigio Donnarumma. It was the clear and obvious resurgence of the missing ingredient: Confidence.

15 minutes had flown by in the San Siro. Arsenal, donned in the doomed blue away strip, were fragile. Gennaro Gattuso knew it. From the very first whistle, he demanded his AC Milan side impress themselves on the visitors. A flurry of corners; a wickedly whipped, inswinging cross that flashed through the six-yard box; a snatched, near-post effort. An early goal equalled capitulation in Gattuso’s eyes. He, probably, wasn’t wrong.

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But the Gunners weathered the storm. They steadied themselves, built a foothold for themselves in the midfield with a calming time of possession, and then began to go about their work with a mechanical ruthlessness that is so painfully absent from a team renowned for its wasteful vulnerabilities.

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It was their blitzing attacks in possession that proved so potent. Take the first goal, for instance. Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere combined to win the ball back in a dangerous area. Three passes and a shot later, and the ball was looping over the stranded head of Gigio Donnarumma after taking an untimely, though perfectly wonderful, if you are Arsenal, deflection off the back of Leonardo Bonucci — the Italian stalwart should have known better than to turn his back when trying to block a goal-bound shot.

Irrespective of the fortune of the goal, the subsequent feeling that it inspired within the visitors was dramatic. It changed the complexity of the team, and consequently the match. Those early-game jitters subsided for calm, assured, stable plays; the disjointed positional sense was replaced with communicative, clear and corporate discipline; the pressure felt in the midfield, rather being buckled to, was subverted with quick, precise, outmanoeuvring passing. From the moment Mkhitaryan’s shot rippled the back of the Milan net, the missing ingredient, in equal measure, rippled through the Arsenal team.

That missing ingredient was confidence, something that even Arsene Wenger conceded the importance of:

"“When you are low in confidence it’s difficult to attack well and I give credit to the team for that. They didn’t hide, they went in a positive way in the game. They didn’t just try to defend well, they had the courage to play as well. Hopefully, that game in Milan has restored and rebuilt our confidence and desire and that you’ll see a positive performance [against Watford]”"

It was with confidence, for example, that Arsenal scored their second goal: Calum Chambers was brave in possession, piercing a pass forwards; Aaron Ramsey was extravagant with his flick; Mesut Ozil was clear and intelligent in his vision, decision-making and execution; Ramsey, again, was cool, calm and collected, rounding Donnarumma and rolling the ball into the gaping goal. It was with confidence, for example, that Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny repelled the aerial bombardment from Milan, marshalling their penalty area, clearing crosses, and making key blocks at key moments. It was with confidence, for example, that Granit Xhaka controlled the midfield, orchestrating from deep, collecting loose balls, dictating the rhythm of the game.

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This was a confident performance. It has been much missed.