OPERATION DESERT STORM
Rice puts Gunners’ title charge down to break in Dubai
That’s when we restored momentum
JUST 58 days ago Arsenal’s season was in danger of falling apart.
They had crashed out of the FA Cup, while back-to-back defeats by West Ham and Fulham left them five points behind Premier League pacesetters Liverpool.
In the seven games before their mid-season break to Dubai they had managed only three league wins and 10 goals – and looked in desperate need of a striker.
But since their week-long visit the Gunners have won seven successive league games, scoring 31 goals and letting in three.
Midfield star Declan Rice has called it a “hell of a comeback”.
There had been a few dissenting voices about going to Dubai, with a few players even wondering whether it would be better to stay at home and recharge.
But if Arsenal go on to win the title, the trip will go down as Mikel Arteta’s biggest masterstroke.
Gunners manager Arteta wanted to get fresh ideas across and dressed it up as something of a holiday, quite a change of gears for someone who is seen as intense and demanding by his players.
Arteta made sure the players’ families were invited and the squad were able to spend quality time with loved ones. But he also wanted to turn up the level in training. Arteta’s buzzword this season has been “control”, as he wanted to exert his style on opponents. They have worked tirelessly on playing a high attacking line while keeping rival teams pinned back. Kai Havertz’s runs to create space are now a huge feature, while the Gunners have become the Premier League’s set-piece kings.
Set piece coach Nicolas Jover worked hard in sessions to improve attacking play and defending. After conceding one goal from a corner in their first 14 games, they let in four in the six matches before Dubai. Arsenal now have 19 league goals from set-pieces and, after last season’s instinctive and off-the-cuff football, they have a way of scoring that means they no longer seem in desperate need of a striker. The line-up has been more settled too, with Jorginho the only player regularly interchanged. His form has been outstanding, which allows Havertz to play as the false nine and for the team to have more control in midfield. Rice said: “It has been a hell of a comeback since the Christmas period, when we lost two in a row. There was a lot of talk when we had the winter break.
“We came back and that week in Dubai was full focus on Crystal Palace, winning that game and getting the momentum back.
“Since that game we have done that and we are looking strong – really positive.
“There was a narrative that we weren’t creating chances, that we needed a No.9.
“But we have been playing like this all year and all season we have been playing really well.”
Arsenal are also displaying a new joy and freedom. Rice, who scored in the 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United on Monday and now has a league tally of five goals and five assists, added: “It is so enjoyable.
“Scoring and winning games 5-0, 6-0, it’s beautiful.
“I want way more than what I’ve got at the minute. Hopefully I can keep hitting my targets and scoring goals.”