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Arsenal have been the best team by far in the Premier League 2022-23 season and cemented their credentials as genuine title contenders after a stunning 3-2 comeback win over Manchester United at their home stadium of the Emirates Stadium in North London on Sunday, January 22.
It was the Red Devil's Marcus Rashford who gave his team the lead, but Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka scored on either side at halftime to take Arsenal ahead. On a day which saw some exceptional goals scored, Lisandro Martinez was the lone non-Englishman to score. But his equaliser did not help at the end of the day, with Eddie Nketiah finding the net in the final minutes to give Arsenal a much-deserved three points.
A lot has been said about this sudden upsurge in form, and one of their former captains had his say on why the Red side of North London has done so well this season. "Arsenal gave time to Mikel (Arteta) and this proves and shows other clubs to not panic when things go wrong. Sometimes, finishing eighth and almost making it to the Champions League but just falling short, just having that process, and it is a process.
"The club understood that it took time to achieve it. I still believe they are way ahead of where they thought they'd be at this moment. Players like Saka and Nketiah, they came from the academy, and they cost nothing to the club. And they've maintained that belief and the results are paying off," he told Sky Sports.
Himself an academy graduate of the club, Fabregas recently visited their London Colney training ground and opened up about his conversation with the manager of the training ground and how Arteta has changed the club. "I was lucky enough to be at the training ground recently and it felt like I had never been there before because everything had changed so much.
"The manager of the training ground told me that 95 per cent of the changes were Mikel's. He's changed the perception of the club, a lot of positive messages around the training ground, much bigger facilities, better equipment, the pitches are better. Everything, you name it."
"It's a message and inspiration to the players for them to really want to put the Premier League in there. He's changed the mentality of the club since Arsene Wenger left. It's fantastic what he's done."
Arsenal's win was an important one for the Gunners, whose last loss in the Premier League came against the same opposition in the reverse fixture. The win also piled pressure on defending champions Manchester City, who beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 courtesy of yet another Erling Haaland hat-trick. City are now five points behind Arsenal.
