Arsenal Vs Everton: Mikel Arteta has inspired hope

Arsenal won their third game in succession against Everton on Sunday afternoon. With Mikel Arteta at the helm, there is now reason for the club to hope.

The second season of the Unai Emery experiment was a hopeless period for Arsenal. After heavy investment in the summer sweeping through the squad, there was a growing positive feeling around the club. Even without Champions League football and with limited players at his disposal, Emery made progress in his first season. And now he had the weapons to unleash.

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Sadly, Emery proved that he was unable to unleash said weapons. His tactics were muddled and confused, there was little definition and positive play for the individual players to grab hold of, and the team declined in performance and confidence.

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By the time he came to leave, there was no hope. The club were stalling on the necessary decision to fire the Spaniard, Emery had proven that he did not have the coaching ability to solve the problems and turn the team’s form around, and there was little reason to be positive about the prospects of the club, both for the immediate season and beyond. And then, with one sacking and hiring, everything changed.

Mikel Arteta arrived as Emery’s replacement. The former club captain and Pep Guardiola assistant has inspired complete change. From the tactics on the pitch to the entire feel of the club in the stadium and around the training ground, the entire organisation has turned around. And it all comes down to the work of Arteta, on and off the pitch. He is the inspirational leader of the club, and it all came to a head on Sunday afternoon with a tremendous 3-2 victory over Everton.

For 65 minutes, Arsenal were excellent. They sprayed the ball around the pitch with real verve and intensity. They carved open Everton, defended aggressively and combatively, especially in the midfield, and controlled proceedings against an excellent team who had not lost in five matches and had only lost to Manchester City under new manager, Carlo Ancelotti.

And then, in the final 20 minutes, they fought tooth and nail to hang onto the lead. They headed everything, tackled brutishly, worked tirelessly, and ran themselves into the ground and to scrap and scrape their way to a precious three points that keeps them in the midst of a top-four race. And the Emirates responded to the team’s efforts in tune. Suddenly, there was a reason to cheer, a reason to shout, a reason to hope.

Whether Arteta can fully turn this season around and make something of it remains to be seen. The Gunners still face an uphill battle to make the top five and Champions League football, even given their excellent run of form and kind upcoming fixtures. But even if they fall short of that ultimate goal, the progress that they have made as a team provides unbridled hope for the future.

Whatever Arteta is doing behind closed doors is working. The players believe in him, the team is improving, and the entire club is gearing towards the end goal of competing at the top level once again. There is hope for Arsenal, and it is all because of one man.