Arsenal: I have no idea how, but we’re actually doing it

Arsenal are in third place, and while I have no idea how they’ve kept afloat, they are, and I guess that’s all that really matters in the here and now.

Arsenal didn’t have a convincing match against Bournemouth. For some, that’s grounds for calling for Unai Emery’s head. For others, like me, that’s grounds to quietly celebrate and focus on how good things are going to get moving forward.

It’s very un-Arsenal-like to win tough matches like this, and to win them ugly, but that is exactly what we’ve been doing, And it reminds me of years ago when fans were complaining that the Gunners just had to learn how to win ugly matches. Now that they have, it’s not good enough. Go figure right?

Through sheer willpower, the Gunners are securing points that they really don’t have any right adding to their total.

Here’s the thing though, it’s not like this isn’t sustainable. In isolation, no it’s not. But you have to look at what’s coming up.

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Over international break, Unai Emery will gain back his full compliment of defenders. Meaning that he could have a starting back line of Calum Chambers/Hector Bellerin – Rob Holding – David Luiz/Chambers – Kieran Tierney.

I don’t know about you, but that is a sustainable defense if I’ve ever seen one. That is a defense I’d have confidence in, day in and day out.

And we’re getting Alexandre Lacazette back too, remember? Our best player? Yeah, he’s ben missing too.

Not just that, but our young players are settling in more and more. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are both pushing the envelope in the first team and they will only get better, not worse. That’s something we should get used to—improvement.

We are two spots ahead of Chelsea. We are six ahead of Tottenham. We are nine ahead of Manchester United. Sure, it’s early. You can’t question that. But for how poorly we have played, we aren’t being punished for it like Spurs and United are. So while I don’t understand how we’ve managed to keep it going thus far, the further we go, the more confidence I’ll have in these ugly matches turning into something much more… attractive.

Rather, we are winning ugly matches and keeping our head above the water for when we truly hit our sweet spot. Which gets more and more likely as the season progresses. That’s what you need to get better. We are only going to get better from here.