The Premier League title race may have seen a major turning point on Saturday, as Arsenal defeated Brentford later in the day to take the lead in the standings, and Man City and Liverpool drew in the early kickoff.
The London derby did not feature Mikel Arteta’s team playing at their best, so a draw was probably a fair result.But Kai Havertz, a substitute, scored the game’s winning goal in the 89th minute, setting off joyous celebrations in the opposing end.
In his press conference on Tuesday, ahead of the Gunners’ Champions League match against RC Lens, Arteta addressed his team’s mentality. This was not the first time Arsenal had failed to show up and still won the league.
“Ultimately, winning a football game is determined by your ability and available resources, as well as the number of strategies you can employ to win,” the Spanish coach stated.
Sometimes it will not be there, sometimes it is the opponent, sometimes you are not playing at your best, but the team always manages to win. Sometimes it is weariness from playing three days earlier. From my perspective, that stems from a certain mindset and the desire to succeed no matter what occurs [on the field].
When facing Brentford, Arsenal trailed late.
The previous season, Arsenal came dangerously close to winning the Premier League, but faltered in the final moments, allowing Man City to surpass them.
Since the Gunners have not been playing as well as they did the previous season, Arteta’s team will have learned from that, and their desire to succeed will fuel them until the campaign’s latter stages, when they should start to perform better.