Arsenal have set the pace for the Premier League this season, with Mikel Arteta’s side continuing to perform at their best. The Gunners narrowly defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, making it their fourth successive league win.
This is their fourth consecutive game without a goal, maintaining the dominance they have shown over the past three years with their impenetrable defense. The North London side have won 11 of their 13 games in all competitions and have kept an impressive 10 clean sheets over the period. Arteta’s side, currently top of the domestic league table and with a perfect winning record in the Champions League, will now turn their focus to the Carabao Cup, when they host Brighton on Wednesday. Express Football brings you the latest updates from Emirates.
Paul Merson’s prophecies
Nine games into the Premier League season, Arsenal have emerged as the standout team, but there are still 29 games left. Despite the unpredictable nature of football, Gunners legend Paul Merson already believes his former side are on track to achieve league glory for the first time since the Invincibles in 2003-04.
“I don’t think anyone can stop Arsenal. Arsenal are an efficient machine, but they have super football players in that machine. They remind me of the old Chelsea teams with Jose Mourinho,” Melson told Sky Sports.
“The moment Chelsea’s team went in front, the game was over. It was the same with my Arsenal team. They scored a goal and went back to the halfway line. You could see it on their faces, they knew the game was over.”
He stressed that their defense was a key factor and confessed that he would be shocked if they did not lift the trophy at the end of the campaign. He added: “I would be stunned if Arsenal didn’t win the league.
“People will say there are still 30 games to go, but the question ‘Who will beat Arsenal this season?’ has only one goal a season from Dominik Szoboszlai. They have the best defensive record in all of Europe, so they don’t need to score multiple goals to win football matches.”
Jamie Carragher hits back
As set-pieces continue to grow in importance in the modern game, Jamie Carragher was quick to lament the amount of long throws after Brentford’s 3-2 win against Liverpool. Arsenal are fans of the impact they get from dead-ball situations and are consistently at the top of the charts when it comes to set-piece goals.
“I loved that dynamic game,” the Reds legend said on Monday Night Football. “I’m frustrated by the fact that it feels like every team this season has adopted long throws at some stage. When you look at the numbers, it’s an order of magnitude.”
The use of set-piece tactics has expanded significantly in the Premier League in recent years, with the Gunners being the most effective at turning strategy into goals. Arteta’s side have scored 11 goals from such situations in the Premier League this season, two more than any other team, and 69% of their goals this season have come from dead ball situations (11/16).
Gary Neville claimed in Overlap that Carragher despised long throws and that this was apparently the direction football was heading. This prompted the Liverpool legend to take on the X and set the record straight.
“I didn’t say for the 100th time that I don’t like set-pieces and long throws!!! What I don’t like is when every team takes long throws and it takes up a lot of time in the game. I can totally understand teams that struggle to get the ball into the box and lack quality doing that. I also like to see how teams deal with them.”
“But a team that has good technical players and spent $100 million on them should put the ball in play as soon as possible to get these players on the ball. I’m no soccer fanatic, but this is throwing the game backwards!”
confidence in defense
Arsenal’s defensive resilience has continued to be a hallmark of Arteta’s teams in recent years. North London’s backline looks as formidable as ever, having scored the fewest goals in the Premier League over the past two seasons.
Manager Julian Timber praised his team’s defensive ability, having conceded just three goals in nine league games this season. “It gives us confidence and it shows we’re doing really well and I think when you’re doing it multiple games in a row, it says something about consistency,” he told Arsenal’s official website.
“We have to maintain that form and keep improving and looking for ways to improve from game to game, but at the same time we have to take that feeling and confidence and go into the next game with the same mindset.”
