Arsenal: ‘Winning mentality’ refreshing but not certain

Rob Holding has stated that Unai Emery has instilled a ‘winning mentality’ at Arsenal. It has shown in recent weeks and is refreshing to see, but it’s far from certain to stay.

Arsenal’s ‘winning mentality’. Or lack thereof. It is a topic that has haunted the club for many years. Arsene Wenger and his admirable loyalty and steadfast belief were invaluable when the football was free-flowing and the mood was positive. But when the tough got going, Wenger’s teams most certainly did not.

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The ability to grind out results is something that every championship-winning side has the ability to do. No team can play at their best for 38 games across a full season. They must be able to win matches and earn points even when the performance does not merit them.

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And this season, under new direction, Arsenal have displayed this hard-nosed, tough resilience, leading to five successive Premier League victories, the latest of which was a 2-0 win against high-flying and highly aggressive Watford in which the first goal wasn’t scored until the 81st minute. After the victory, Rob Holding, who stood in for the unfit Sokratis admirably, extolled the influence of new manager Unai Emery, stating that he has brought a ‘winning mentality’ to the club:

"“He said when he came in that he wanted to bring a winning mentality and I think you get that from wins and you go into each game confident. We’re physically fit and we know that we can go and get the result. It was a really competitive and physical game and we knew that coming in. We just had to stand up to the battle and late on I think they tired and we managed to get a few passes together and score the goals.”"

It is certainly true. Emery has brought a winning mentality to this team. These recent victories, under Wenger, would not have been victories. Not all of them, anyway. It would be fair to argue that Arsenal are yet to play well this season. They splutter into gear every now and then, shining in fits and starts here and there. But they haven’t produced a great performance for a full 90 minutes yet.

But after the weekend’s results, they sit in fifth place on the same points with Spurs, just two behind Chelsea, and just four behind the league-leading pair of Manchester City and Liverpool. Moreover, considering that they have already played Chelsea and Man. City, admittedly losing both games, it has not necessarily been the easiest start to the season. But the results have nonetheless been achieved. It is refreshing to see.

That said, we are seven league games and five wins into the Unai Emery era. It is a small sample size. To say that Arsenal have already gained a ‘winning mentality’ would be remiss of accurate analysis. They have merely displayed a winning mentality during these first two months of the season. There is no certainty that it will persist throughout the whole season and beyond. Even under Wenger, the Gunners would sometimes grind out a win, much to everyone’s surprise, only to falter the next weekend.

As Holding rightly states, it is clear that Emery has toughened up the squad. He has instilled a greater steel and resolve that was not previously present. It is nice to see. But it is not necessarily certain. There are more tests to come. Arsenal must pass them all.