Arsenal recorded their first home victory in the Mikel Arteta reign with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United on New Year's Day courtesy of goals from club record signing, Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
The Ivorian met a Sead Kolasinac cut back in the 18-yard after the ball missed every other person and taking a deflection off a United defender, with a sleek curl early in the game, sending David de Gea the wrong way.
The Gunners doubled their lead three minutes before the break, Pepe this time taking an inswing corner which was flicked goal-wards on the near post by Alexandre Lacazette to force a sharp save from de Gea but the Greek rock was on hand to fire up into the roof from about six yards out.
The win is Arsenal's first win since their last away victory at West Ham in Unai Emery's penultimate game in charge and their first home win in 87 days, which dates back to the beginning of October 2019.
MY OPINION
It would have been very unlucky for Arsenal to have dropped any points again on the night following their unlucky results in their first three games under Mikel Arteta where they have shown immense improvement. A few takes on from my perspective:
It is a nice feeling to see an improved Arsenal after months of torture football. A sense of togetherness, everybody playing for the team. I remember Arteta was said to have mentioned that he wants players who will play, work and run for the team, that, we have seen. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette and even Mesut Ozil all tracking back and some times, you see them at the edge of their own box defending. Lucas Torreira has shown once again what we have been missing and why Arsenal snapped him up before the 2018 World Cup. Oh my! I never thought this day would come but I feel so ecstatic to see a different Granit Xhaka. Apart from the part that he has moved on from his clash with the fans, his game play has improved and in a very long time, I saw Xhaka not get booked on a match day. We could all see why the players wanted him as captain (even though I never supported the idea), he's a people's person. Always ready to fight for the team. Maybe the armband wasn't meant for him after all. Not all players fulfill their potentials with the band. Right now, if I ha d my way, I wouldn't allow him leave for any amount but it looks more like a done deal for his return to Germany. I hope he doesn't leave, at least, not yet. Luiz once again showed that, even though he's way beyond his peak, his wealth of experience and leadership skill is what we have lacked at the back for years, since the Patrick Viera era. Leno again showed world class, though, he wasn't really troubled like before which was a good sign. All the players had a great night and thumbs up to them.
We have improved in our game play however, it is still increasingly worrying that we are turning out to be a first half team. Like in the game against Chelsea, we fizzled out in the second half and brought a lot of pressure upon ourselves. I believe it is the price we have to pay for the high pressing game Arteta is trying to imbibe in the team. Of course, pressing high and not allowing your opponent space is a good thing for a team that wants to win, there is an urgent need to find a balance between both halves so that we don't get to pay for it when we meet stronger oppositions.
I was very glad to see Pepe start the game even though I wasn't happy he was taken off as early as the 61st minute. To help him build his confidence, he needs more of such starting roles to help his game and taking him off that early may not really be productive. He is a also a player that can commit the opposition (even though the referees have been unrealistically hard on him by not giving decisions his way).
We understand that Arteta loves to work with young players like we have seen and heard him say, nonetheless, I believe he should be careful and choose his battles. No disrespect to Reiss Nelson, I believe he still has a long way to go to be fully fit for the Arsenal first team. He has all two games before yesterday and has been far from impressive. Despite that he gets into positions and gets fed good balls that he could cause harm with, he has failed to deliver those edge cutting performances. Same cam be said for Joe Willock. They both have talent, no doubt, they just need to understand that the EPL especially demands more, particularly in terms of physicality and spontaneity. If they really want to be the future of the club, they should start now.
Whether Xhaka leaves or not, we need a midfield enforcer who can really stabilize the middle of the park for us. One who can go from both ends for the duration. Also, a center back and centre forward for contingencies. In place of getting a new centre back, it would be great if Rob Holding or Mavropanos can step up to that role. It would be good investment and cost effective for the team.
While it feels great to be an Arsenal fan again, it is no uhuru yet as there's still a lot to be done with the team. The positives are however so much that I feel like every match day should come in quick succession as I cannot wait to see the boys play every time.
I love that Arteta stays o the pitch so connect with his players, whether lose or win, doing that as a coach does a lot to the players' mentality and even for the confidence and trust of the supporters. That's what we see working for the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. We could quite say Arteta has learnt from one of the best.
From here, we move.