COMMENT: By rights, these past four wins for Arsenal should always have been routine - at least on paper. But the manner of the victories. And how the season is shaping up. It must give the new Premier League leaders pause for thought.
Can they do it? Sitting two points clear at the top of the table. Watching Manchester City's wobble this week. Arsenal's players must be saying to eachother, 'this could be our year'.
It's not that the Gunners have stepped up a level from last season. Declan Rice has been an outstanding addition, there's no doubt about that. And Kai Havertz, for this column, will eventually silence his doubters. But the greatest difference from last term has been City's shakes. There's an uncertainty about Pep Guardiola's men. A lack of consistency. And it's brought the Treble winners back to the field. At least, that is, for the moment.
So we have a race. This season, there's genuine competition. Not by teams lifting themselves to City's level, but by the champions suddenly becoming vulnerable. But no matter the reasons, Arsenal find themselves as leaders - and the competition's form team.
Declan Rice calls it their "never-say-die" spirit. And to be fair, you can understand the claim. Kai Havertz in the final minutes at Brentford. Rice, himself, with that header at Luton. There's a new resilience about this Arsenal team. A new spirit. And it's getting them over the line again and again.
For some, needing to find last minute winners at the Kenny and G-tech is a concern. That being stretched as they've been against such bottom ten teams should raise alarm bells for Arsenal's title credentials. But this campaign, as it stands, will be won by a team with such qualities in abundance. It's going to be a scrap. A battle. The wobble of City over the past week is proof enough of that.
Spirit. Commitment. Even friendship. It's going to come down to those one per centers. The small details. And Arsenal are proving themselves a team that is never beaten.
After that winner at Kenilworth Road, Rice let it be known: “Last year, they [Arsenal] were eight points clear and obviously lost the title.
“This year, there seems to be a different feel around the place in terms of being stern, being steady, being composed in big moments.
"It's that never-say-die attitude that we've got that we keep pushing, keep fighting to the end, and I think that's our fifth goal in added time."
"Stern"? "Steady"? You've not heard an Arsenal team described like that in decades. But it fits. Indeed, Rice could be describing a Manchester City dressing room. The days of promise and potential are over. That's why Rice, when leaving West Ham, resisted City and chose the Gunners. Just as it was why Gabriel Jesus chose Arsenal over the continent the year previous. The potential tag is no longer enough. And you can see that in these late, late winners.
There's team spirit. There's unity. Sure, such qualities can bring Rice the winner at Luton. But there's also attitude. The attitude of nearly enough being good enough no longer applying. Of the 'we'll get 'em next season' approach being no longer acceptable.
Rice again: “When I signed with Arsenal I was fully confident I could come here and perform at a really high level. But also, it is about staying level-headed, staying focused and not letting your feet get off the ground."
If City continue to stumble, then this title race is wide open. But it'll be a grind. Battles will be won and lost. Individual errors will count. As will refereeing decisions. And it'll be the team with the coolest heads that come out on top.
Arsenal don't have an Alisson between the posts. Nor an Erling Haaland leading the line. But they do have a spirit, an attitude, which says they're never beaten. It's what, beyond all else, has the club two points clear at the top of the table.
Forget the opposition. Forget the mistakes. In a scrap, as this race is shaping up to be, these one per centers could be decisive in Arsenal's title bid.
