Arteta’s plan is fuelled by added belief

ARSENAL 2 WEST HAM 1

MIKEL ARTETA refused to accept his side were lucky to beat West Ham.

Quite right, too.

This new Arsenal make their own luck. These well- drilled Gunners inspire that old quote from golfing legend Gary Player: “The more I practise, the luckier I get.”

This was the kind of game the Gunners would have drawn or even lost last season under Unai Emery. But this Arsenal graft. This Arsenal have character. This Arsenal never stop believing.

That’s what marks them down as top- four contenders. The disbelievers can scoff. Chelsea and Spurs may have comparable options going forward but few teams achieve their heir objectives without a good defence – and Arteta, right, has sorted Arsenal’s out.

“I think you have to earn luck,” ck,” he said. “People who are lazy, who don’t work, who don’t put their passion into their work – I don’t think they can get lucky.”

Too right. This may have been Arsenal’s worst performance under the Spaniard for some time but they squeaked through on the fundamentals. A basic belief in what their manager wants them to do.

Arteta paid tribute to Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah with the pair stepping up to the plate on a rare occasion Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang failed to score.

“We need to share the goals much better,” he said. “We need to produce as a team if we are to fight with the top teams.”

Arsenal ( 3- 4- 3): Leno 6; Holding 7, Gabriel 8, Kolasinac 7; Bellerin 6, Ceballos 8, Xhaka 7, Saka 7 ( Luiz 89); Willian 8 ( Pepe 64, 6), Lacazette 8, ( Nketiah 77), Aubameyang 8. Goals: Lacazette 25, Nketiah 85.

West Ham ( 4- 2- 3- 1): Fabianski 6, Fredericks 6, Diop 7, Ogbonna 6, Cresswell 6; Soucek 7, Rice 7; Bowen 7 ( Yarmolenko 83), Masuaku 7 ( Anderson 90), Fornals 7 ( Haller 88); Antonio 8. Goal: Antonio 45.