Arsenal: Mikel Arteta era has commenced in earnest

With the first win of the Mikel Arteta reign, Arsenal appear to be on a proper and defined track. We look at his time so far and what the future may bring.

After two matches of measured improvement, the breakthrough occurred that Arsenal fans have been waiting for. Against Manchester United, Arsenal looked like a complete front for quite possibly the first time all season. Between a defence that contained hot stars such as Marcus Rashford, Daniel James and Anthony Martial and an attack that looked fluid and aggressive in the final third, fans could not ask for much more. Mikel Arteta is having an impact.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — After Everton, good luck Mikel Arteta

How so? Well, Arteta’s influence differs from the Unai Emery model in the fact that a comprehensive plan does appear to already be in place. Under Emery, the team always appeared to be looking for an identity. While offensively the team continued at much the same clip as under Arsene Wenger, the defence also persisted in this manner. In time, that defensive unit likely degraded further. The Emery era had become simply untenable.

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As a proponent of Arteta, I was excited about his arrival. I am long on record as a proponent of former players who can bring multiple things back to their favoured club. First, they offer a mentality reminiscent of the era in which they played in, Edu being an example of this. Secondly, however, they offer innovation gained from other experiences.

For Edu, it was the Brazilian Footballing Confederation; for Arteta, it is a sojourn with Pep Guardiola, an utter master of modern football. For Arsenal, this means a former club captain returns as boss with a few tricks and ideas up his sleeve, which ultimately stem from the great Johan Cruyff, who Guardiola draws much of his inspiration. Arsenal are now managed by someone with deep personal and philosophical connections to three of the greatest footballing bosses of all time.

In the Bournemouth draw, we saw patience and resilience from a manager who just received the reigns of his former club from caretaker boss Freddie Ljungberg. There were signs of progress, but they were sticato, not maintained throughout the full 90 minutes, the players still getting to grips with what Arteta was asking them to do.

In the next match, a late loss to Chelsea, further progress was made still. Chelsea scored two in the final stretch to steal the game from Arsenal, but the Gunners played with discipline and determination and were only overpowered at the very end of the game by a team more sure of their tactics and with a youthful ignorance of their circumstance at times. And so, in Arteta’s third game in charge against Manchester United, would we see further evolution?

Undoubtedly, we did. This was brilliance from the get-go. It was a team you felt confident in. Arsenal looked fluid and thoughtful in the attack. The Fearsome Foursome of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe and Mesut Ozil terrorised United’s backline and appeared blessed with a volition never apparent under Emery — listless footballing is finally cast away from this team of remarkably talented players.

At the other end, the clean sheet was earned, and with it, Arsenal create momentum for themselves moving forward. This was not simply an offensive domination, but a defensive one as well. Arteta’s side put together their finest match of the season in only his third match in charge. The encouragement from that to North London and beyond is immense.

It can be said, and with good logic and tact, that Manchester United are an inconsistent team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But while this is well and true, the team had been playing very well up until their trip to Emirates. And they were dismantled in desperate and dominant fashion.

Arsenal annihilated United, especially in the first half, but there was never a sense of a comeback ever being possible during the second period. That is surely different than any Arsenal team we have seen in at least five years. If that can be sustained to a consistent level, Arsenal are finally big trouble to others, as opposed to being in big trouble.

To return to prominence is not an overnight venture; it takes time, patience and effort. But the process of returning to prominence does begin at some exact time and place. Which was it for Arteta and Arsenal? Was it the Bournemouth draw?  The last-minute Chelsea loss? The devastation of Manchester United?

While it may have demonstrated itself in different ways in each of those occasions, the moment likely was out of eyesight for all but the most select population. That moment occurred likely during training, the video sessions and the long team talks that Arteta has conducted. This is often the unseen price of reform and progress: endless effort and agonising over the smallest details. This is where the Arteta revolution is conducted, and it is having quite the impact.