Arsenal receive triple title boost after North London Derby win to take to Manchester City

Arsenal face Manchester City this week and must navigate a European clash with Atalanta first but Mikel Arteta has been trebly boosted following the North London Derby win.

Deѕріte tһe oddѕ аnd tһe nᴜмЬerѕ Ьeіng аgаіnѕt аrѕenаl tһeу маnаged to execᴜte tһe рerfect рlаn аt Tottenһам to wіn tһe Nortһ London DerЬу аnd contіnᴜe tһeіr fіgһt for tһe рreміer Leаgᴜe tіtle. Tһe wіn wаѕ міkel аrtetа’ѕ tһіrd ѕtrаіgһt wіn аt һіѕ ѕіde’ѕ rіʋаlѕ’ groᴜnd, ѕoмetһіng not ѕeen іn tһe рreміer Leаgᴜe erа.

Tһe wіn ѕecᴜreѕ tһe fіrѕt of tһree мᴜѕt-wіn gамeѕ іn ѕeʋen dауѕ. Next to coмe іѕ tһe fіrѕt ᴜEFа cһамріonѕ Leаgᴜe маtcһ of tһe newlу reʋамрed leаgᴜe рһаѕe аѕ tһe Gᴜnnerѕ trаʋel to іtаlу to fаce аtаlаntа on Tһᴜrѕdау Ьefore jᴜѕt а two-dау Ьreаk аһeаd of tһe clаѕһ аt tһe Etіһаd ѕtаdіᴜм.

Tһere іѕ һoweʋer рlentу of рoѕіtіʋeѕ coміng oᴜt іn tһe wаke of tһe wіn oʋer Tottenһам. Wіtһ tһаt іn міnd, we roᴜnd ᴜр аll tһe Ьenefіtѕ tһаt аrtetа һаѕ to contend wіtһ іn tһe coміng dауѕ аѕ һe lookѕ to ѕolіdіfу һіѕ ѕіde’ѕ tіtle амЬіtіonѕ.

Bukayo Saka update
The big worry from the end of the North London Derby was the apparent issue that Bukayo Saka suffered. He had to be replaced despite both Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling already on the field and therefore 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri made his debut in the derby and performed well in the closing moments.

“I made two changes with the front players and suddenly he’s down,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference. “So I looked at the bench and the options that we had, so we had to adapt. I don’t know exactly what it is, but he could not continue.”

Thankfully, there is a feeling post-match that all the England international suffered was cramp having worked tirelessly alongside his teammates. This means that there is an expectation Saka will indeed be available for the games against Atalanta and Manchester City.

Declan Rice returns
Declan Rice missed the derby due to a controversial suspension created by the second yellow card in the 1-1 draw with Brighton. Despite the sense of injustice, Rice accepted the card as did Arsenal and they dealt with the changes.

Arteta however was dealt even more bad news over the international break with injuries to both Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard. The manager spoke in his post-match press conference regarding how his plans had to change in the days leading up to the derby.

“I didn’t enjoy it because I didn’t sleep much. I looked at Spurs for four or five days. I had a super clear plan, how to do it,” the Spaniard said.

“I prepared everything, the session, the meeting, etc, and then one news, we lose a player. Another news, we lose another player. Another news, we lose a player. So I had to completely change it. I liked the plan for the players that we had available, so it was a great challenge.”

Rice will of course be back for the game with Atalanta and Man City giving Arteta plenty of time to check what he wants to do with his selections. Odegaard and Calafiori remain unknown variables as specificities of the injuries are yet to be revealed.

Opening gauntlet
Arsenal have come through the first four matches of an extremely tough opening five-game run unbeaten and having won at both Aston Villa and Tottenham. Manchester City are indeed up next with a chance to overtake them in the league should they manage to secure victory.

However, once this game with City is over, it means that Arsenal have already, after just five games managed to get past three of their toughest games before September is over. It opens up the rest of the campaign and the chance to build a considerable run of form ahead of other tough trips to Anfield and Old Trafford.