@labxnair 3 things. Injured players are fit and in rhythm (no martinelli gyokeres Madueke front 3). Mental block removed after winning the league. Lastly, a theory, Arteta can’t play liquid football and beat pep but he can play liquid football and beat maresca / alonso to the title
Arsenal played VERY GOOD football for three straight seasons. Three runner-up finishes.
Last season was different. They had to win something big, or the project would die. Lose a title race that close, that many times, and player motivation is lost. Arteta knew it. So he used every resource he could find. They became "Set Piece FC", ugly when it had to be, ruthless where it counted. It worked. They won the league and lost a Champions League final on penalties.
Now the weight is gone. Players look healthy, the football looks free, and the winning is still happening.
None of this should surprise anyone who watched them these last four seasons with open eyes. Apparently it surprises almost everyone. I guess they just don't like the club or its coach.
Bunch of 23-year-olds with a 40-year-old manager were running around giving prime KDB, Halaand, Rodri, Salah, Trent, Klopp and Pep etc problems in close title races. This was always very fathomable I’m afraid
@femooafc This doesn’t apply to me. I’m a fan of noni. He’s excellent til the end product (left footed cross is good already) and I hope and think one day he will tie it together. But I think it’s fair to be frustrated that he’s not showing signs of that yet