Arsenal strengthened their claim on a Premier League title challenge after they put in an immaculate performance against Chelsea in the Premier League at the weekend. A goal from Gabriel Magalhaes midway through the second half settled the contest and placed Arsenal back at the top of the league.
With just one Premier League game to go until the World Cup break, Mikel Arteta is understandably hoping that there was no pause to the domestic season at all as his Arsenal side continue to ride the crest of a wave after securing their 16th win out of a possible 19 in all competitions so far this season.
The claims at the start of the season were that Arsenal had not played anyone particularly strong and when Manchester United stopped their five-game winning run, it seemed to quash any early title talk. But since that defeat the Gunners have not lost in the Premier League and have beaten Liverpool, Spurs and now Chelsea, which also saw them break a long-standing unwanted record.
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Pep Guardiola's Manchester City do remain hot on their tails though, after they snatched a late-winner courtesy of an Erling Haaland penalty against Fulham on Saturday to briefly lead the way in the title race but with another victory against Wolves on Saturday evening, the Gunners can enter the break top of the tree - which would also see them top at Christmas, with the Premier League set to resume after the World Cup on Boxing Day.
What has been most impressive to many though is how Arsenal have been beating these teams, as only on a few occasions have Arsenal needed to grind out results, winning six of their 11 games by a margin of two goals or more.
While on the face of things, it would have taken one moment of magic or luck to claw Chelsea level, they very rarely troubled Aaron Ramsdale's goal and the Gunners were in command for much of the contest and that was what impressed former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand the most.
Speaking on BT Sport after Arsenal's victory, he said: "How many times did we look at each other when a phase of play happened and it was all because of the way Arsenal were making moves on the pitch? A real top performance. These types of games are hard and they make it look as easy as you can make it."
Ferdinand was also quick to praise the camaraderie of the Arsenal team, adding: "are this team the real deal? There’s something there, togetherness, you can smell it in this team. The way they celebrate. There’s an authority of how Arsenal are playing under this Mikel Arteta."
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