Report: What Arsenal's players have done that has left Mikel Arteta buzzing ahead of today's Saints clash

10/05/2024 12:15 AM

Arsenal are flying high at present, once again putting themselves in Premier League title contention and also impressing in the Champions League and League Cup.

The Gunners have twice come close to winning the title, and last season, only fell short on the final day of the campaign.

Arsenal have continued to build their squad and progress as a team, culminating in a healthy position at this point of the season.

The Gunners are currently third in the Premier League table, just one point off the top, and are also on four points in the Champions League and in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

Journalist Miguel Delaney has now spoken about something Arsenal’s players have done which has especially impressed manager Mikel Arteta.

Mikel Arteta impressed by Arsenal composure against Leicester

Delaney's latest Reading the Game newsletter (4/10/2024, 12:30pm) spoke about how well the Gunners maintained their composure against Leicester City.

Arsenal led 2-0 at the break, only for James Justin to score a brace to put the Foxes on the verge of a point at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners then struck twice in injury time, Wilfred Ndidi’s own goal putting the hosts ahead before Kai Havertz made sure of all three points.

Delaney wrote about how Arteta was ‘especially impressed with how his team handled the "emotion" of the Leicester match, which was just as important as their tactical application.’

He continued: ‘The Arsenal manager knows how galling it can be when a team thinks they have a game won only to squander a 2-0 lead and be pegged back to 2-2, which was why he was so enthused by the response.

‘The team didn't allow the "emotion" to get to them in the way they might have done in the past.’

Delaney also noted how Arsenal’s latest league win ‘sets up another weekend where it feels like this title race is getting going much earlier than usual.

‘It is as if there is an awareness that anything dropped now could be costly, particularly with the Manchester City hearing weighing over everything.’

READ MORE:What Arsenal insiders are now saying about Ethan Nwaneri in wake of his Leicester cameo

Third time lucky for Arsenal this season?

Arsenal’s 2022/23 title challenge came almost as a bolt from the blue for most neutrals after several seasons of mediocrity.

The following year, the Gunners very nearly went all the way, but a few poor results in the latter stages of the season proved costly against the Manchester City juggernaut.

Now, Arsenal are showing the kind of steeliness and resolve that champions are made of. While it’s still early in the season, it’s certainly a case of so far, so good.