Arsenal are dragged into the Champions League by team spirit. Winning is like winning trophies, Premier League players agree

After the first three rounds of the Premier League season, the whole world was laughing at Arsenal. Last in the table without a single goal scored, the performances were similarly dreadful. However, a dismal 1-0 home win over Norwich was a stepping stone to a better tomorrow.

The narrow victory cemented the team, the Gunners subsequently went unbeaten in nine straight games through all competitions. They boasted two factors, a well-functioning defence with three summer signings (Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale) and a young, fast attack.

What Arsenal fans are also noticing compared to previous seasons is the team spirit. The enthusiasm the players have for winning is not seen in every team, helped by the purchase of the emotive Ramsdale, who clearly lives day and night in London.

A fine example is Saturday’s game against Aston Villa, after which an injured Ramsdale ran up to his rival Bernd Leno and gave him an enthusiastic hug. The German goalkeeper made an important save in stoppage time to preserve the 1-0 win.

The big celebrations of Mikel Arteta’s charges after the difficult end of the match surprised even Villans left-back Ashley Young. He commented “Did you see how they celebrated? I felt like they won the league. At least it shows that they had a hard time against us.”

Wolverhampton midfielder Ruben Neves made similar comments in an interview with Sky Sports a month ago. Arsenal led from the 25th minute, but in the 69th minute Gabriel Martinelli saw two yellow cards and the Gunners finished the game shorthanded.

They withstood the pressure and beat a rampant Wolves, who boasted four wins from the last five rounds before the game, in ten at Molineaux Stadium. “I haven’t seen Arsenal celebrate like that in the last ten years, it was like they won the league,” Neves was heard saying after the defeat.

Arsenal have a four-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United with eight rounds to go in the season and have played one game less. They have already dropped out of all cups, so they can only focus on the league. The dream fourth place is within reach, the game of the season is likely to be the clash with Manchester United at the Emirates stadium.

Source: Sky Sports