Arsenal: Friendship leads to fighting spirit

Perhaps unlike I have seen previously, the Arsenal squad are friends with one another. And this has led to a unique fighting spirit on the pitch.

You do not have to be friends with your teammates. Roy Keane never was. But it certainly helps.

Camaraderie is a funny old thing. It can inspire individuals to greatness, even if they themselves do not believe their own capabilities, but it cannot be engineered. It is not a formula that is bottled up and distributed. You do not solve a lack of camaraderie with plans and preparations and mathematic and forced actions. It comes naturally, which is what makes it so curious.

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And in football, it is vital. Ask any teammate, you might not have to be friends with one another, but you certainly have to be happy to play alongside one another. And presently at Arsenal, not only do they have a squad that is willing to play alongside one another; they have a squad full of budding friendships. Here are just a few of the many examples from players revealing their friendships with others in the squad.

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This was Hector Bellerin in a summer vlog talking about Dani Ceballos:

"“We’re more than just teammates, you know, we get on really well off the pitch and he’s one of them players that although we’ve never played together in the same team we keep in contact and when we used to meet up with the national team on the Monday we always used to meet up on Sunday and go for dinner together and stuff with a few other players.”"

Another new signing, David Luiz, was highly praised by Calum Chambers for his infectious personality, on and off the pitch:

"“David has been brilliant, he has come in and no-one in the club has a bad word to say about him. He is one of the nicest guys I have met, he talks to you, gives you advice and makes everyone feel like he is giving you his undivided attention.”"

Then there was the story from Gabriel Martinelli about his welcome to the team by new vice-captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang:

"“I arrived for lunch on the first day. I’m eating there, Aubameyang arrives and sits next to me, speaking Portuguese to me, ‘tudom ben?’ (‘all right?’), trying to communicate. You see, the guy [is] so good [and] humble. I was like, ‘Man, Aubameyang, who I saw on the TV, came to talk to me!'”"

And just this week, Alexandre Lacazette lifted the lid on his strong relationship with Aubameyang and Matteo Guendouzi, the latter of which having just won the September Player of the Month award for the club and being named in the final 20 players for the Golden Ball award:

"“He [Matteo Guendouzi] is like the younger brother [in the friendship group with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and I]. We all really have a good relationship, we like to work and to laugh together so it’s really good.”"

There are, I am sure, many other stories of the friendship within Arsenal’s dressing room.

Many may see this is wishy-washy, a little meaningless and inconsequential. But this level of friendship off the pitch leads to a fighting spirit on it. It is why being friends with your teammates helps. As a thinking, feeling, loving, human being, you are far more likely to fight for someone who is your friend than someone who is a stranger. And Arsenal have proven this throughout the past 18 months.

How many unlikely and inspiring comebacks have the Gunners completed under Unai Emery? How many times has this team battled out victories that they do not deserve? How many times has the camaraderie paid dividends?

More than anything, the Arsenal players are friends with one another. And it is leading to results on the pitch.