When Unai Emery took charge of Arsenal, there were a few concerns. His troubles were further compounded by the Gunners’ lacklustre start to the season but to be fair, they did have a difficult fixture schedule.
But since then, the North Londoners have sparked a turnaround and are now unbeaten in their last 11 games. Despite that exceptional record, the club’s performances on the field often seemed sluggish and were becoming worrisome.
Even during their 3-1 win over Leicester City, the Gunners drew the first half but made amends in the second half and notched up a win.
However, in that game, Leicester certainly put up a tactically sound performance. Claude Puel deployed a three-man defence for the first time this season and the Foxes kept sending the ball to their forwards anytime Arsenal’s full-backs were caught higher up the pitch.
As a result, the Gunners couldn’t cope and the swiftness with which Leicester did their job, Emery’s men seemed dumbfounded. But after half-time, the Arsenal boss certainly had the last laugh.
Mesut Ozil burst onto the scene and equalized for the club and he worked wonders in his preferred No. 10 role. Ozil combined excellently with Hector Bellerin, whose speedy runs worked in tandem with the German’s creativity and power.
Winning a game that seemed out of their grasp against a resilient side like Leicester undoubtedly boosted Arsenal’s morale. Their next game was against Sporting CP in the Europa League and one can never undermine the Portuguese outfit.
Arsenal ran the show yet again, subjecting the home side to a 1-0 defeat and showing greater cohesion and power in their play from the midfield to the final third – which is exactly what they were missing so far.
Next, they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace and that will be another great chance for Arsenal to take their unbeaten run up to 12 games. In fact, if they continue in this manner, the Premier League might just find a new title challenger.
