"It's not good enough, and you can't play with this mentality," said one of Arsenal's standout performers from their 4-2 victory over Leicester City. It was Granit Xhaka that said those words, but he wasn't moaning about this impressive victory, it was just over two years ago in a loss away to Aston Villa.
It was a time during which the Gunners had their weak mental state criticised by fans, pundits and also their own managers. There was a general acceptance that from the later years of Arsene Wenger's reign at the Emirates, Arsenal had become somewhat a pushover and no longer a team for the big moments. It's too early to say that it has completely changed, especially after the collapse towards the end of last season, but a lot has changed since then.
Mikel Arteta's transfer activities have added eight Premier League titles to the squad and a vast array of experience from situations that not only are Arsenal not used to being in, but they also haven't been there consistently to properly learn. But that looks set to change.
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The progress made since last season looks to be clear both on and off the pitch and the startling changes brought about from just signing Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Gabriel Jesus is massive. It also hasn't escaped the mind of Arteta, who praised the attitude of his new No.9 after scoring two goals on his home debut.
The Spaniard said, "we know what Gabi can do. He scored two and got two assists and is still disappointed because he thinks he should have scored four. That's the standard, that's the mentality. You need to go to a different level."
Arteta has seen that level himself at Manchester City and has only recently been able to implement it at Arsenal. By moving on from disruptive players, Arteta has his own changing room in front of him and is already acknowledging the impact that one signing can have.
Jesus opened the scoring with a deft chip against Leicester before doubling the lead with a back-post header. It was his first two league goals for the Gunners after an impressive full debut against Crystal Palace last week, and the plaudits have continued to come in for Jesus.
His manager went on to add, "I wouldn't like to play against him. I've never been a defender, but I can imagine I wouldn't enjoy it. He's so mobile, so intuitive, always sharp and proactive to play in any moment and phase in the game, and it's a real threat."
He is also a big example for the younger players in the squad. It is tough to generate enough pressurised situations in training, so having a player like Jesus, who has played in a Champions League final and won the title on the last day of the season twice, is invaluable.
With six goals scored in two games with Jesus, Arsenal already have their own bit of Manchester City mentality coming off Jesus, and it's helping everyone.
"I think it lifts the standards the way every day he is, the way he's talking to them, the way they are connecting," Arteta said. "I think it's very natural, but at the same time, it's pretty impressive to do it that quickly. At the same time, though, we're asking other players to score goals as well. Granit is arriving in the box, he should have scored last week, he should have scored two today because he had another header.
"If you want to be at the top, you're gonna have to score a lot of goals."
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