Arsenal: The fine line between confidence and complacency

Arsenal are enjoying a brilliant run of form and results with nine consecutive victories in all competitions. However, there is a fine line between confidence and complacency. Unai Emery must now find it.

The 5-1 win over Fulham was surely Arsenal’s best performance of the Unai Emery era. It is the ninth consecutive win in all competitions and was indeed a five-star performance which leaves the club only two points behind the league leaders.

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It looked like Emery is increasingly succeeding in inserting his mentality in the squad, with the players adapting to his style, strategies and management approach. But now begins the most crucial time of the season.

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Arsenal have gained much-needed momentum and will be facing big teams in the near future. They must not get too carried away by their recent run of form and instead continue working to improve. The players are now looking more and more confident with the passing of each game. The Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-Alexandre Lacazette duo is lighting the show in almost every match so far, constantly creating problems for the opposition’s defense. But the big test lies ahead with games against the top six on the distant horizon. Scoring against the top teams is never easy as the battle is fought on a different level, physically, mentally and technically. Hence, this is an undoubtedly crucial time for the club, one that could make or break the season.

Due credit should be given to Emery for the recent run of results. Emery has managed to lift the spirits to a whole new level and is gradually finding his feet at the club. Players like Danny Welbeck, Shkodran Mustafi, even Petr Cech, players that were at the center of fans’ lashings, are now giving match-winning performances and look far happier.

There seems to be a fresh air around the club which has been missing. Emery has managed to get the mixture of the vintage, one-touch football and playing the ugly way also to dig in and earn the undeserved points whenever necessary quite right so far. But the work is not finished yet.

Emery must keep working hard on the areas which still need to be addressed. This team must keep improving, as Emery himself highlighted after the victory over Fulham. Getting carried away at this point of the season could haunt Arsenal. The players mustn’t get too loose, and must rather continue to replicate their recent performances for the remainder of the season.

There is a confidence about this team that is nice to see. They are playing with a greater certainty and conviction in comparison to recent seasons. They are different from what they have been. But there is a fine line between confidence and complacency, and Emery must be vigilant to his players slipping into a state of arrogance and unattentiveness, rather than maintaining their work ethic and will to win.

It is, of course, important for a team to be confident, as Arsenal are at this point in time. But confidence cannot become complacency. Emery must be careful indeed.