Arsenal show the ruthlessness required of title challengers by blowing away Sheffield United
With Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, Mikel Arteta’s side made sure they kept close tabs on league leaders Tottenham Hotspur and made their own title statement.
Over the last decade, the constant in the Premier League title race has always been Manchester City. Liverpool challenged them at some point but fell off along the way.
Tottenham and Manchester United also came into the picture but quickly fizzled out before a proper title race could be established over time. Chelsea have also had moments but couldn’t sustain it.
Arsenal, though, have built on the gains of last season, where they finished second to Pep Guardiola’s side, and the results they’ve chalked this season only point to a side that wants to go one step further in the current campaign.
Arsenal blow away Sheffield United
Like other clubs in the league, Arsenal have been blighted by injuries this season, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus missing the Sheffield United game.
However, what has stood out for the Gunners is how they’ve managed to navigate their way through the tough periods, and that is why they still remain unbeaten.
Even without Odegaard and Jesus, Arsenal had enough firepower on the pitch to put the Blades to the sword. Eddie Nketiah, who came in for the injured Brazilian striker, put up a solid performance that ended with a sensational hat-trick.
Such was Arsenal’s dominance that Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu were also in on the goals at the Emirates. The Gunners completely blew away Sheffield and demonstrated that they really meant business.
Gunners showing traits of title challengers
Arsenal’s bane in past seasons has been their lack of ruthlessness, but they’re beginning to show the clinical instincts needed to be in the title race.
Against Sheffield United, the Gunners didn’t give them a sniff. The Blades had no shots on target and managed just 33% of the possession.
There were times in the past when Arsenal were punished for letting their guard down against less-fancied teams. This time, though, they’re leaving no stone unturned, no matter the opposition.
“That shows the mentality and the determination that the team wants, and how much they have to respect every game and every ball,” Arteta said after the game, as quoted by Arsenal.com.
“The influence that every ball has in the journey you have to have throughout a game. They took the game in a really serious way.
“On Thursday I gave them a big alert, because the context and the difference we have to play with the last Man City, Chelsea and Sevilla games. I’m really happy with how they approached it.”
Arsenal’s transformation has been as meteoric as it has been pleasurable to the fans. Given the way they’re playing and winning games, they’re certain to be in the title race come the end of the season, and, just maybe, it could be them leading the pack.