ARSENAL fans would have bitten your hand off for a four-point lead at this stage of the season if you had offered it to them in August – there’s no need to panic yet.
Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United was punctuated by a smattering of boos from inside the Emirates Stadium as old wounds were reopened by Matheus Cunha’s 87th minute winner.
Gooners have every right to feel hurt by the nightmares of the past, but this season isn’t the same as the last three.
Arsenal still have a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League and their nearest rivals aren’t the same beast they used to be.
The chasing pack is made up of an injury-hit Manchester City side who are looking considerably less threatening and an Aston Villa side that will get a nose bleed if they stay this high up the table for much longer.
Panicking is only going to make things worse for Arsenal, leaning into any mental fragility that has hurt them in the past – Mikel Arteta needs to relay that message to his players.
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From an outside perspective this is an Arsenal team with an immense amount of depth, a history of competing for the league title and a cushy four-point buffer.
Not only that, but they have already put away games against Liverpool, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle in their rearview mirror.
Visits to Man City and Spurs will probably be the only fixtures with a red circle around them on Arteta’s calendar.
Arsenal can now look ahead to a run of games against the likes of Leeds, Sunderland and Brentford to try to rebuild some confidence and steer things back on track.
Meanwhile, Man City have games against Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle right around the corner.
Arteta has already claimed his team “has to pick up points now”.
The Spaniard has a habit of using defeats like Sunday’s to light a fire under his team, but what they need right now is to stay calm.
Putting too much impetus on dropped points will start the alarm bells ringing, Arteta needs to trust in his players’ own ability to get this over the line.
Opta’s supercomputer still reckons Arsenal have an 81.74 per cent chance of getting their hands on the trophy come May.
Arsenal just need to get their heads down and play with confidence, there’s no need to think about anyone else around them.
This team may not be playing free-flowing attacking football, but it is more than capable of winning the league title if it plays to its potential.
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