Gabriel Martinelli’s first Premier League goal might have kickstarted more than one career at Arsenal on Monday night. His impressive returns in the Europa League earlier this season were reason enough to encourage Freddie Ljungberg to give the 18 year old a full league debut, and it turned out to be the kind of bold thinking Arsenal may need more of in the near future. As the Brazillian ghosted into the box on the hour mark to slot home Sead Kolasinac’s low cross, and bring Arsenal level in a game in which they had been vastly under par, the man whose faith was placed in him began to see his own reputation become enhanced in a whirlwind ten minutes.
The dam finally bursts
Often when a team with the kind of talent that Arsenal possess have been underperforming for so long, there is a team that ends up ‘getting it’, like a dam that bursts as the water pressure gets too much. It’s unfortunate in a sense for the team that is on the other side of the dam when it bursts, and the water pours through, because often they never see it coming and there’s little they can do anyway. Certainly in this case, at 1-0 down at half time, it was difficult to see where Arsenal would get their next win let alone how they’d get anything from the second half.
And then after a 15 minute opening to the second half in which nothing seemed to have changed, and the dam seemed unbreachable, Martinelli happened. And pour it did. For the remaining 30 minutes Arsenal were unrecognisable and West Ham couldn't get near them. As if a switch had been flicked, the passing was suddenly crisp, the pressing more urgent, the tackles snappier. The 50/50s were suddenly going Arsenal’s way. They had rather comfortably drifted along despite all the Arsenal possession in the first half, but suddenly the Hammers found themselves on the receiving end of the kind of performance that had been due a while from the Gunners.
Pepe lighting the fire
Martinelli’s accomplished finish was followed up six minutes later by a sublime effort from a record signing who hasn’t quite lit the spark he has shown at times so far this season. But Nicolas Pepe’s curled effort from an angle showed exactly why he cost £72 million. His chipped pass three minutes later, setting up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to acrobatically wrap up the points, was the icing on the cake. The question is whether the spark has finally caught fire on not just Pepe’s Arsenal career, but the Gunners’ season.
There’s nothing like a visit from the reigning champions to stamp out the flames though. Out of sorts they may be, but Manchester City still go into Sunday’s clash as clear favourites. It won’t necessarily be the kind of game Ljungberg is judged on at this point, but if Monday night’s trip to Stratford is to be the turning point for Arsenal’s season rather than just a flash in the pan, how they perform against City will be something of an indication. Ljungberg’s side will need to take that confidence found in the last half hour from the first minute this time round, for a start. The scenes after the final whistle- hugs for every player, smiles all round- point to a side that might just have their mojo back.
A test of man management for Ljungberg
It also points to a head coach that has the man management skills to coax a run of form out of this one result. From his time with the under 23 side at Arsenal, aside from his tactical acumen several of his former youth players speak highly of him in that regard. Cohen Bramall, now at Colchester United, has described the former Invincible as “the whole package”. Judging by the reactions of his senior charges after Mike Dean blew Monday night’s final whistle, they might feel much the same way.
Ljungberg spoke after the game about not getting ahead of themselves, but Arsenal will need to take all the belief they can get into Sunday’s game and beyond. If they can negotiate Pep Guardiola’s City side then it will truly feel like a page has been turned on a sorry chapter at the Emirates Stadium. Certainly the quality is there. Arsenal will need to marry it with the character that they showed in coming from behind at half time to win away from home for the first time in eight years, having lost their starting right back during the warm up and then their first choice left back 30 minutes into the game.
Momentum is an overused word in sport but the man the Arsenal faithful so affectionately refer to as “Freddie” will need to gather up and bottle all the good feeling and optimism if this truly is to be a turning point. It won’t be easy but he might just have it in him.