It has been a long time coming, six years to be exact. Arsenal finally earned a point away to Premier League champions Chelsea, when former captain Robin Van Persie inspired them to an end-to-end 5-3 victory against the Blues. Against the top six, the Gunners have struggled for form, a balance between defence and attack, with any sort of discipline, as they have thrown all hope of a result out of a window because of the purist stubborn tactics of manager Arsene Wenger.
Now after the recent 0-0 draw with Chelsea at the weekend, the red side of London can use this as a catalyst for change, to show the English top-flight that they can turn a corner and challenge the elite in the Premier League, if Wenger can overcome his beliefs and put them to one side when it matters.
A Change In Tactics
When Arsenal were the Invincibles, unbeaten league champions for the last time in the 2003/04 season, they were easy on the eye and a joy to watch, with the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires lighting up the Premier League by pulling teams apart at will.
However, as much as they were a skilful side, they also dug in deep when needed to grind out results. Turning draws into wins and near losses into points, Highbury saw a gulf in class between Arsenal and the opposition. In the past decade since the move to the Emirates stadium, an increase in profits also saw a tactical switch from Wenger. Preferring tika-taka football to physicality which they showed in the past, they have not been able to mix it up with the variety that the Premier Leaue offers.
Gary Neville on Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal: "Arsene Wenger made a difference. He chose attitude and hard work over talent." pic.twitter.com/3tbCSgMbQX
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) September 18, 2017
Once the game started on Sunday, Arsenal showed a discipline and togetherness that has been missing for some time. With the likes of new full-back Sead Kolašinac coming into the team, alongside Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck on the wings, the Gunners showed a greater resilience without the ball, harassing Chelsea all over the pitch.
On the flanks, they looked much stronger, while the spine of the team was key in picking up a morale boosting point. Midfield duo Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka showed the potential of their partnership in the centre, out-running and out-thinking the Chelsea side.
Consistency Key
What Arsenal have to do now is match that performance with consistency, running up to the heavy fixture period towards Christmas, where the games come thick and fast during the winter months.
They showed at the weekend that they could mix it with the best in the Premier League, when 100% effort is put in by the squad, from the first-team starters to the substitutes.
A run of wins would be good for the team to build confidence, and that should start with focusing on defence first. Consistency will manifest from keeping clean sheets in the heart of the defence, with that boosting the squad as a whole. Switching Shkodran Mustafi to the heart of the defence was a masterstroke on Sunday, as the German World Cup winner marked the in-form Alvaro Morata out of the game at Stamford Bridge.
🔙🔛🔝 Decent team performance today 👏🏼 Good to keep a clean sheet - With one point back to North London. #sm20 #CHEARS #COYG @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/VlkjoZc8gl
— Shkodran Mustafi (@MustafiOfficial) September 17, 2017
With his excellent job on the Spanish international, partners in crime Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal were able to act as cover, as the three defenders worked in excellent unison.
All over the pitch, you could pick a contender for man of the match as many players excelled in the instructions given by Wenger.
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil
Now with the two contract rebels playing little and no part in the fantastic result respectively, the question remains where to utilise them in the future? Alternatively, even whether they should be used at all? As questions remained over how Alexis Sanchez will play a part this season with a deadline day move to Manchester City evaporating in the closing moments of the window, he has so far been a frustrated and sparingly used option in the first team.
With Sanchez on the bench and Mesut Ozil not playing any part in the game, Arsenal worked much better as a side without the important but distracting playmakers.
After such a strong team effort at the weekend, how can Wenger justify bringing them back into the fold when they played so well as a unit against the current champions, picking up a vital point at a ground where they have struggled for so long.
The Frenchman used tactics from the past, which he seemed to forget in the past decade since moving from Highbury to the Emirates, it would be a shame if he reversed the progress Arsenal made against Chelsea by remaining a weak figure on the sidelines and seeing his side drop further out of the top six.