The boyz have managed to pull off an amazing stint of dominance and pure magic by beating Tottenham Hotspurs at their own homeground, The White Hart Lane, a place we haven't been able to secure a victory in for nearly nine years.
A dominant first half performance was what sealed the deal for the Gunners as a Hugo Lloris own goal and an Odegaard power strike were enough to send the boyz back to The Emirates with the much-deserved three points. We've now beaten Tottenham both home and away this season and oh boy is this surely a statement from the boyz as we now stand 8 points clear at the top of the summit.
We definitely needed a positive result in this match as we are to face our arc-rivals, Manchester United, this coming Sunday in what is surely to be a nerve-wrecking and season-defining match for both teams. This match will surely be one to watch as perhaps this is the moment in which both teams will face each other in their best forms, reminiscing back to the Arsene-Ferguson era.
This game will be played at the Emirates and with United having a mid-week fixture, we might just been in luck, not only with the slight home advantage but also with United having to play a competitive fixture in the middle of the week, causing fatigue as our players rest and gear up for some sweet revenge over our only L of the season.
No team has managed to beat us in the Emirates Stadium this season, a place we're slowly turning into a fortress and with back-to-back derby victories over Spurs, the Gunners' confidence is definitely at an all-time high as we grind out results matchday after matchday. United are definitely on the come up but come Sunday, I truly hope the boyz will be able to outperform, outsmart and outskill them so as to totally shut down their hopes of entering the title race.
Let me be totally clear, this match against United will definitely not be an easy one. United are in their best form ever since Ten Hag took over the reign as manager and with Marcus Rashford seemingly being unable to stop scoring, the Gunners will definitely have to pull up their game up a notch in order to gain some much-needed points as we edge closer and closer to the title as time goes by and with the results going pretty much our way.
The challenge we might face concerning our title-charge is the fact that we are already in the middle of January and yet we haven't made any major Winter transfer signings. Moreso, Chelsea handed us a major blow by securing the signature of our priority target, Mykhailo Mudryk, in a deal worth close to over 80 million pounds and his contract with Chelsea will run for nearly 8 and a half years. This sudden change of heart from Mudryk prompted some Arsenal players such as Gabriel and even his fellow Ukrainian teammate to unfollow him on the social platform Instagram.
With Mudryk deal blown up in the winds, we definitely need a plan B which I'm sure Edu and Arteta certainly have. Some names being thrown around for potential transfers to The Emirates are Barcelona's winger, Raphinha, whom we previously tried to sign in the past while he was at Leeds United, Youri Tielemans whose contract with Leicester City ends this coming summer and even Brighton's breakout star, Kaoru Mitoma, who's scored against Arsenal in both the 1-3 win in the League Cup and the 2-4 loss in the Premier League. Leandro Trossard is also reported to be available for a transfer from Brighton this January following a fallout between him and Brighton's head coach De Zerbi.
Transfer rumours shenanigans aside though, we really do need to make some serious signings in the coming few days if we are to be genuine title-contenders as we are short in some areas, especially in attcking and midfield. Let's just cross our fingers and hope Edu manages to pull up a Jesus and a Zinchenko once again.
Table-wise we are at 47 points, 8 ahead of our closest competitors, Manchester City whom we are to face next week in the F.A Cup 4th Round on Friday 27th January at The Etihad Stadium. Whatever happens in these coming days will surely be crucial in the title race. Transfers are needed and so are the results as we face a reignited Manchester United at home, Everton F.C away, Brentford F.C at home before once again meeting City but this time at home, one day after Valentine's.
COYG!!! And do not forget: NORTH LONDON IS RED!!!
Aaron Ramsdale. Courtesy of Sky Sports.
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