Mikel Arteta can welcome Mesut Özil’s revival but will look to improve his side’s game management while Frank Lampard deserves praise for an astute first-half substitutionWhen the dust settles, Mikel Arteta will feel a measure of satisfaction that so much of his message is getting through.
Arsenal ran, harried, moved the ball on quickly, posed a genuine threat and did not really look like buckling under pressure until Bernd Leno’s howler changed the complexion. That felt harsh but what happened next was a reminder that simple game management is one of the first things Arteta’s Arsenal need to master. Sometimes you have to know when to take a point but, from their own attack, Matteo Guendouzi lost a crucial challenge to N’Golo Kanté and set in motion a movie everyone has seen before. Arsenal were shockingly open as Willian and Tammy Abraham sliced through them – a situation not helped by their centre-halves backing off fatally – and resembled a team that had rushed headlong to chase the game. It betrayed a lack of savviness in the side.