London. Arsenal found themselves at a disadvantage.
Arsenal pushed and pushed and pushed.
They were one team on the field and one team in the stands.
The arena is boiling. There are feelings of frustration, anger and resignation. A spectator near the press stand completely loses face and is pulled away by five hosts for the match.
These lines described the mood in the Emirates on a damp evening in October 2019. The meeting with Crystal Palace ended with a score of 2-2, which was, of course, a loss of two points instead of a victory of one.
Wet, cold and self-confident drive to rock bottom.
I start with this negative review because tonight’s clash with Manchester United clearly shows the change Arsenal have undergone since then.
Self-esteem is contagious
Nothing new for this season. The players in red have received remarkable support from the crowd since the first round. But when the crowd rose in the 17th minute to drown out the crowd’s cheers for Marcus Rashford’s stunning goal, the development was more evident than ever.
“Sinal, sinal, sinal”.
These days, it doesn’t matter if Arsenal fall behind. It makes no difference who is on the other side. Mikel Arteta’s side know they have the power to beat anyone and the confidence is infectious in the stands.
Despite being 0-1 on the board, the home team scrambled as if nothing had happened and when David De Gea played the ball to Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Gabriel Martinelli fired straight. Man United were pushed back and eventually the equalizer came through Eddie Nketiah.
The body of Saka Arsenal
Nikitia is not the Gabriel of Jesus, but he deserves to be called with a word greater than “reserve.” Wan-Bissaka stood like a statue while the 23-year-old ran and did a proper run. Although the spotlight switched to Bukayo Saka in the second half, Nketiah deservedly had the last word with the winning goal.
Saka is only 21 years old but he is already representing the London club, one of the biggest. If – yes, if – Arsenal go on to win the title this season, it will be immortal for all time.
It is certainly special to think that a Swede had a hand in Saka’s development. When the youngster fired his stunning long-range shot from the right past De Gea, he became only the third Arsenal player to score against Man United in three consecutive league matches.
After Thierry Henry – and of course the old coach Frederik Ljungberg.
A wonderful evening
Man United counterpart Anthony, on the other hand, had a night to forget. Christian Eriksen lost a lot of duels centrally (he lost the suspended Casemiro). Today, relying on remittances has not worked.
A fellow Brazilian, with sympathy for Arsenal, later revealed in shame that he had asked for compatriot Martinelli’s shirt.
– It’s the first time I’ve done something like this in my career, but … this looks like an important evening, he says, looking eagerly at the shirt he’s showing under his jacket.
This is potentially a very important result for Arsenal Football Club. But above all, the effort was a reminder of just how far they’ve come.