Mikel Arteta described it as an “extraordinary day” for both him and his team as they fought back from two goals down to beat a dogged Bournemouth at the Emirates.
Arsenal have seemingly responded from the loss of form that saw them take one point from three games, by winning four on the bounce. “We had the belief,” Arteta said, “we have done it in various ways and that should generate more belief.”
Arsenal are playing like champions. With less than a third of the season to play out, they remain five points clear of Manchester City and on course to achieve what few believed possible last August.
Every Gooner’s mind will wander to an eerily similar day in 2016, to which many parallels will be drawn. Arsenal’s last-gasp win, in the midst of their last genuine title challenge sparked hope. On that day, it was Leicester City who came to the Emirates with a five point lead at the top, after a 3-1 win away at Manchester City. It was the last time Emirates Stadium truly hit fever pitch. It all ended in heartbreak, but there are signs that this team might avoid a similar fate.
Like the Cherries, Leicester sat deep, as they always did, putting the onus on the home team. Leicester created the better chances. On the break, Vardy’s heavy touch baited Nacho Monreal into an unnecessary challenge in the box. The striker fired home defiantly from the penalty spot. Arsenal were behind at the half.
Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
A salvage mission looked unlikely. Leicester’s success was built on their rock-solid defence and the Gunners had only scored twice in four and a half games. But the contest changed after 54 minutes. Danny Simpson brought down Olivier Giroud after a wrestling match near the corner flag and Martin Atkinson decided it was worthy of a second yellow card. It seemed as if the players and the crowd had berated him into the decision. It was soft. Leicester had to play almost the whole second half with ten men.
The Emirates moaned and groaned like a beached whale. Every misplaced pass was met with a chorus of nervous energy. It had a negative effect. The crowd was expectant and demanding, feeling the players and this manager owed them a title.
Today’s Arsenal team received no such favours against Bournemouth. It was hard to keep count of the VAR reviews for potential hand-balls in the box – each less of a handball than the last. A 2-0 deficit would have been the end of earlier Arsenal sides. In response, Emile Smith-Rowe, subbed on for the injured Leandro Trossard, headed back into the mixer and Partey scored to give Arsenal life. But it was Reiss Nelson’s rare cameo that was the real game-changer. Almost immediately after coming on, he provided the cross for Ben White to volley in the equaliser with 20 minutes remaining.
It was another English winger who changed the game seven years earlier, when Theo Walcott was brought on to great effect on that day. With 20 minutes remaining, he volleyed past Kasper Scmeichel to score the leveler, after an Olivier Giroud cushioned header. The crowd roared, first with relief, then with belief. A winner would lift the leaky roof off the Emirates. Like Bournemouth, the Foxes absorbed pressure, bending but not breaking. It was an Arsenal avalanche, yet Leicester clung on.
Faced with Leicester’s low block, Arsene Wenger’s side threw everything and everybody at it, buoyed by anxiety from the stands. Giroud and Per Mertesacker missed gilt-edged chances when it looked easy to score. Players and supporters looked on in agony; jeering, whistling and complaining.
The 2023 vintage didn’t take the same approach. They played their game, the same game they always play. No panic. Patient passing worked the tiring Bournemouth defenders from side to side. Arsenal’s creative players looked for an opening but couldn’t find one. They stuck to the plan and so did the fans, roaring encouragement with resolute positivity, as if knowing their role.
Both games would be decided in one moment. Against Leicester and with 94 minutes on the clock, Mesut Ozil stood over a free-kick, with one last chance. The Emirates held its breath. Ozil’s inch perfect cross found the head of Danny Welbeck, who redirected it toward the near post and into the net. The place erupted. Welbeck and his teammates jumped the hoardings and into the North Bank. The wild celebrations continued after the final whistle. Fans hugged strangers, some cried. It was hard not to feel for Leicester. Arsenal were title favourites.
(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
This Arsenal team now needed a huge slice of luck. With the six added minutes up, Oleksander Zinchenko’s shot deflected wide for a corner. There was just enough time to take it. The previous 17 hadn’t looked particularly threatening, but there was no time for a short corner and no time left. Into the mixer it went. Marcos Senesi’s headed clearance only found Reiss Nelson on the edge of the box. His first touch set up a left-foot drive that gave Neto no chance, rocketing the ball into the net. Bedlam. Both teams were spent physically and emotionally. Arsenal remain five points clear.
In 2016, Arsenal lost their next two games to Manchester United and Swansea. Leicester didn’t falter. They went unbeaten after their defeat at the Emirates, a run of 12 games. Leicester deserved their unlikely title win, nobody could begrudge them, but it felt very Arsenal.
Today’s Arsenal’s team are the plucky underdog when compared to Manchester City, spurred on by their manager’s unwavering belief. The players have seemingly bought in. Arteta knows it takes a squad to win the title. Making his team believe in him and themselves may just take them all the way.
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