One-nil down, talisman injured, a sickness bug going through the squad and getting further adrift in the title race. For half an hour, Arsenal felt the cold at Brentford.
The usual questions were going around when Bryan Mbeumo put the Bees 1-0 up, with Arsenal going more than a quarter of the game without a shot on target and without a comeback Premier League away win in nearly two years.
An hour and three goals later and Arsenal pushed back against some of those questions, though they were still asked – especially on whether Arteta’s squad is short on numbers.
“When I see the willingness of the team to play through anything, the versatility that we can create within to play with our own idea, the answer is no,” Arteta said.
“But we don’t know, if something else happens or we’ll have other issues. Hopefully not. Hopefully we will have people back. We need everybody.”
The reasons why Arteta is so steadfast in trusting this team were on show against Brentford. For the first time in a while, there seemed to be a balance in his team.
Normally, Arsenal are so heavily weighted to the right-hand side that nearly 50 per cent of their attacks go down the flank where Bukayo Saka normally is. The win over Brentford saw the Gunners much more dangerous across the board, nearly split evenly between each avenue of attack.
Part of that is down to the form of their two Brazilians. Gabriel Jesus has six goals in his last four games – one more than he managed in his previous 48 games.
On top of that, the positive introduction of Ethan Nwaneri looked a better fit than the right-hand option the Gunners had against Ipswich five days beforehand.
But it is the form of Gabriel Martinelli that has emerged out of nowhere, particularly in the absence of Saka on the other side.
The Brazilian hit 15 Premier League goals in the 2022-23 campaign, but a barren run has only just come to an end. His tally of four goals in three games is more than he managed in his previous 26 games. Something has clicked, or is there something simpler to it?
Martinelli has a bit more stability behind him. This was the first time Martinelli has started with Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino on the Arsenal left – two players who Arteta bought over the summer to try and improve the team.
Both Calafiori and Merino are fixed, natural left-sided players whereas Arsenal have chopped and changed between different players in those specific positions. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Myles Lewis-Skelly are inverted left-backs, while Jakub Kiwior and Kieran Tierney have struggled for form and minutes.
Calafiori is a more natural option that Arteta actually wants and sought after, the same with Merino in midfield compared to Declan Rice and Jorginho. “We believe with the unit on the left we could have the dynamics we wanted,” said Arteta about the Spanish midfielder.
Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori make a different to Arsenal’s left side
Comparisons have been rightly made between the Spaniard and Granit Xhaka, the midfielder alongside Martinelli when he reached double digits in the top flight for Arsenal.
With those combinations behind him, Martinelli looks a completely different player. He created more chances than anyone on the pitch against Brentford – and even more than every single player among Arsenal’s opposition.
Where Merino also helps is in duel-winning abilities and set-pieces, showing both in Arsenal’s second goal in west London – his second goal for the club, both coming from dead-ball situations.
Arsenal’s efficiency from corners, especially, is not so much a surprise given Arteta was not asked about set-pieces at all after the game. It was their 25th goal from a corner since the start of last season – no individual player has managed that many.
“It is a big quality of our team, to share the goals,” added Arteta. “Today we have done it again, scoring in three very different ways. Great. That is what we need.”
So if Arsenal keep this balance and continue to spread the goals around the team, maybe they are not as short as they may seem.
A prolific new forward would help matters, no doubt, but Arteta’s side have showed before they can go on a post-Christmas run necessary to win the title without January additions.
