Table-topping Arsenal welcome Fulham to the Emirates on Saturday as they chase a fourth consecutive win of the fledgling Premier League season.
Marco Silva’s Cottagers have shown themselves to be spirited and plucky underdogs so far this campaign but the Gunners will be targeting all three points and the continuation of a strong start to their all-conquering title-charge.
Joking aside, if Mikel Arteta’s men hope to right the wrongs of last season and beat a path into the Champions League this time around, bread and butter games at home against newly-promoted sides have to be, well, bread and butter.
The Gunners have shown so far this season that they can overcome complacency and maintain concentration against smaller sides and they will need every ounce of that again on Saturday.
The squad will know this is a game they should be winning but, just like at Bournemouth last week, a killer instinct and a drive to keep pushing is essential. One goal is always enough to win, of course, but this team is learning to push for two, three or more in every game and that’s great.
Once of Manchester City’s great strengths has been in putting matches out of sight and snuffing out any ray of hope for an opposition side and, in small part this season, we have seen this same mentality begin to permeate its way into this Arsenal team.
That improved attitude would no doubt have been aided by the arrival of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, two players who have been moulded by the philosophy of outright domination espoused by Pep Guardiola.
A little of that filtering its way into the dressing room at the Emirates is no bad thing.
For their own part, Fulham have made a commendable start to the season, claiming draws against Liverpool and Wolverhampton, and a morale-boosting win over Brentford. Clearly, they are not the sort of cannon-fodder we can expect to roll over.
And it’s worth bearing in mind also that we have a game next Wednesday to contend with, in the shape of Aston Villa. Granted, there won’t be much travelling for us to do but, after a relatively sedate start to the season, thinks will shortly begin to crank up.
So far, our squad remains in good shape and there are no early-season niggles with which to content. Things can change quickly in football, though, so the manager will have to plot a path carefully.
While the going is good, he won’t want to change too much but he must remain cognisant of the demands on a squad which will likely have to play twice or even three times a week at times this season. If we can make judicious use of those on the bench in games like this weekend and not impact our momentum, let’s do so.
In the short term, though, our focus must be on Fulham and adding to the momentum which has brought fans and players together so brilliantly this summer. Let’s make it four from four!
Blog on You Gunners 