Arsenal players and staff celebrated wildly at Villa Park as they returned to the top of the Premier League. Mikel Arteta, however, will be under no illusions that his side must improve if they want to stay there.
At half-time on Saturday, the Gunners were 2-1 down and staring down the barrel of a fifth game without a win. Two injury-time goals secured a 4-2 win for Arsenal to get their title charge back on track, with City now two points behind them after drawing 1-1 at Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal have their last clear week on the training ground until April as they prepare to face Leicester on Saturday, and the squad are expecting some home truths after a poor first half on Saturday.
“It’s probably one of the worst ways we can win, because we pride ourselves on defending, keeping clean sheets — and that’s from the No9 to the No1, and the staff,” said goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
“Of course, it’s an amazing feeling now we are in the dressing room, but there will be some truths spoke in the week about how we can improve and what we need to do better.
“In different games, if we don’t show that level of performance in the second half, a 2-0 or 2-1 head start for the opposition team could mean no way back. We don’t want to be giving teams head starts.”
Ramsdale put Arsenal’s poor opening 45 minutes on Saturday down to “maybe nerves and complacency”.
Arteta corrected it with a team talk that was so blunt his players were out early for the second half. Captain Martin Odegaard followed that up by calling an impromptu huddle, echoing Arteta’s words that the team had to get back to doing the basics right.
The stirring words from Arteta and Odegaard worked, but in the long-term Arsenal must address the concerns from their first half at Villa. The forward line lacked its usual urgency in the way they press, which allowed Villa to play out from the back.
Unai Emery likes his sides to build from the back and for their second goal the hosts were able to work the ball up the pitch far too easily.
Arsenal’s defence lacked its usually solidity, too, with the full-backs exposed. Part of that was down to the absence of Thomas Partey, who missed a second game in a row with a muscular problem. The Ghanaian will be assessed in the hope he can face Leicester.
Jorginho stood in for Partey against Villa and he excelled in several areas. The Italian was progressive with his passing and that helped Arsenal chase down the goals they needed.
Out of possession, though, the 31-year-old can struggle. He lacks the physical prowess of Partey and at times he was overrun playing as Arsenal’s solitary holding midfielder.
We played the Arsenal way in the second half, which we know how to play.
If Partey is out again, it may require a rethink from Arteta. Granit Xhaka has excelled this season in an advanced role, but pulling him back and closer to Jorginho would provide greater protection for the defence.
Arsenal’s rise to the top of the Premier League has been characterised by them controlling games. They lacked that in the first half on Saturday and restoring it feels vital if they are to achieve their dream of winning a first title since 2004.
“We played the Arsenal way [in the second half]. We played the way which we know how to play,” said Ramsdale.
“We didn’t try and do different things, which we did in the first-half. We did everything which we had done to get us in this position in the first place.”
