Arsenal overcome ‘fear’, Rice absence and Aston Villa hoodoo to underline title favourite status | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher doubted whether Arsenal could “really put Aston Villa in their place”, believing them to be inhibited by “fear”.

Ashley Young felt there was “a nervousness” emanating from the Premier League and Champions League-leading Carabao Cup semi-finalists.

John Cross diagnosed ‘a serious case of the jitters’ from a team ‘almost beset with doubt and anxiety’.

Jamie O’Hara sensed “a bit of concern over the fact they’re not scoring loads of goals” and had failed to beat their closest domestic rivals.

And that was before Arsenal lost their emblem of ability: stability, durability, availability, unperturbability and interchangeability.

Yet the Gunners, as it happens, are cooking without Rice and rudely interjecting to answer the Aston Villa title question themselves with a definitive and emphatic ‘no’.

In his classic showcase of a pundit refusing to update their opinions on Arsenal and instead reverting to the factory settings of this being a fundamentally weak and pliable manager and squad, Carragher professed his interest in evaluating their “psyche” at the Emirates on Tuesday evening, and “how they start in the first 20 minutes”.

It was a prescient point to make, considering how the hosts stumbled out of the blocks while Villa burst through the middle with relative ease.

Unai Emery arrived with a clear gameplan that Arsenal struggled to combat, a direct one that Chelsea, Manchester United and a great many of their 11 previously consecutively vanquished opponents failed to counter.

Ollie Watkins could not have had a hat-trick in those opening 20 minutes because time doesn’t work like that, but he should have at least scored one as the movement of Morgan Rogers occupied Gabriel and isolated William Saliba.

But Arsenal held firm, stood their ground and slowly played their way into the game. From the 19th minute to the 58th they had seven unanswered shots, scored twice and basically rendered the match moot as a contest.

Gabriel scored from a corner because of course he did. Yet Martin Odegaard winning the ball from deep to play in Martin Zubimendi for a deft finish is not part of the Arsenal bingo card, much like Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus curling sublime efforts into the same corner from roughly the same position soon after loose balls were retrieved.

Villa started brilliantly, summed up when Ezri Konsa robbed Viktor Gyokeres near the halfway line to create one of those opportunities for Watkins.

In those moments, Arsenal – the players, the fans, the club – did seem every bit as fearful, nervous, anxious and concerned as the punters suggested.

But the way they flipped the script almost immediately after the restart was stunning. Gyokeres, who helped win the corner from which the opener was scored, at one point earned the biggest non-goal cheer of the evening by blocking a Rogers effort on the edge of the area from a free-kick. Seconds later he had won a corner at the other end with no team-mate in the vicinity.

They started forcing the 50-50s to fall in their favour. The second, third and fourth goals all featured such victories in the build up: Odegaard v Sancho; Timber v Digne; Zubimendi v Garcia.

Even Gabriel v Martinez from that Bukayo Saka set piece was somehow won by the player who had the slight disadvantage of being prevented from using his hands.

It mattered not. Villa had a strategy but it seemed to last half an hour and unlocking the next stages seemed to be contingent on it producing a goal. Arsenal, as ever, know unwavering faith in the process prepares them for any and all eventualities.

That does lend itself to the sort of performances and results which do not inspire confidence, especially in direct competition with a Manchester City side capable of expressive attacking and blowing away any opponent.

Arsenal’s four previous Premier League games had been decided by a single goal, including the defeat at Villa Park which triggered this winning run.

So to see the Gunners stretch their legs towards the end of a game they faced immense pressure and scrutiny before and during was to witness a title favourite embracing their reality.

The arm-waving, frustrated reaction to Watkins finally getting his birthday consolation goal in the 94th minute of a 4-1 defeat did not even feel especially performative. Arsenal have simply set absurdly high standards and respond accordingly when they are not met.

It is a hallmark of a great many things – champions, excellence, quality, elite mentality – but certainly not “fear”.