‘It can’t all come from the manager’ – Martin Keown on how Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal can become winners
I wish I was a fly on the wall in the Arsenal dressing room at half-time on Sunday because I think a lot of the difference between their first and second-half performance was down to the kind of motivation from the manager that I am talking about.
It was the same at Anfield last week, when they were 2-0 down to Liverpool at the break and Arteta told them he was not accepting that level of performance. They were not behind against Newcastle this time but they could have been, and he deserves some credit for how they turned things around again.
Like Wenger, Arteta has got his lieutenants – the players he can rely on – and Declan Rice stepped up again on Sunday. You could tell he was short of full fitness because he was blowing a bit but Arsenal needed him, and he delivered.
There was a bit of a cup final feel about the game because Champions League qualification was riding on it for both teams and of course there was an edge to it, with Newcastle beating Arsenal three times this season already.
They needed to be put to bed, really, and Arsenal did that in the second half – even if the game still had quite a tense ending.
I don’t think Arsenal fans were exactly celebrating second place at the final whistle but it is still quite an achievement for them to get back into the Champions League for a third straight season, after they were away for six years.
When you consider where Arsenal were when Arteta took over in 2019, I think he has done an amazing job.
Injuries have massively impacted them this season, but it still feels like we have got our Arsenal back – they are on the right path, and the trophies he craves will follow.
Martin Keown was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
