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His side’s lead blown apart by Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki in the April sun, Mikel Arteta was keen to reframe the state of a title race that seemed to be bending towards Manchester City. 

“It’s a new league now,” he insisted.

Five games to go for Arsenal, three points clear with their rivals having played a game less, and the smallest possible goal difference advantage in the Gunners’ back pocket. This was close enough that it felt like there was truth in Arteta’s words.

Of course, strictly speaking, there wasn’t. This did not have to be a fresh start; it was still 2025-26, and it was still the same campaign that looked like it had gone off the rails. A spirited but ultimately merited 2-1 loss at City was a fourth loss in six games for a side that had been beaten just three times in all competitions before the EFL Cup final in late March. The bottles were piling up outside the Etihad Stadium. The familiar questions were being asked of Arteta and his players. Could they do what was needed to win when the pressure was highest?

Their response has not quite been perfect, but largely because of the penalty given against Ben White in the Estadio Metropolitano. That led to the only goal Arsenal have conceded in the five games since they were beaten at City, the only match they are yet to win. If this was indeed a new season, then Arteta’s players came flying out of the blocks. Rounding out their home season against Burnley on Monday night, arguably the greatest season in this club’s history is three wins away. This is how you respond to questions over your mentality.

“It was a reset moment,” Arteta stated of the loss at City. “The performance was there, and I think we deserved much more than when we got out of the game. 

“We used that as fuel to be even more convinced and to understand, okay, what we’ve done up to now is fine, let’s learn every bit of it and now let’s use it for the last five games. That’s what has remained, and we’ll have every chance to go and do it.”

Though the City defeat was a learning experience, the five games in the following 15 days did not bring any particular change in identity for Arsenal. Personnel adjustments, most of all moving Myles Lewis-Skelly into midfield, proved to be triumphs but this is still a side that can lean on an excellent defense. Atletico Madrid were held under an expected goal at the Emirates Stadium and were under 1.5 when the penalty was discounted on their home ground.

The hallmarks of Arteta’s Arsenal are there. The field tilts in their direction, 23 possession gains in the final third to 11 allowed, 892 touches in that prime position, well over 200 clear of what they are giving up. Only in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal did they give up more shots than they took. It’s 7.18 non-penalty xG in their favor to 4.94 against.

There has been juice in the attack, too. Viktor Gyokeres is finding form, Leandro Trossard looks like the best version of himself and Bukayo Saka is finally able to give Arsenal some quality minutes, even if he does not look fully fit. On a five-game rolling average, their xG was trending up and their xG allowed downwards. Those aforementioned numbers are not prime Arsenal but given the pressure and the margin for error, being nearly half an expected goal better than your opponent is not to be sniffed at.

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There have been moments at the back where it has felt that the pressure might have got to Arsenal, the sort of openings in behind the backline that Gabriel and William Saliba have been snuffing out for years. At their very best, this defense doesn’t let Mateus Fernandes in behind them at the London Stadium. Still, when their season was on the line, at least they had David Raya to bail them out. So crucial have his saves been for Arsenal this season that they have become required viewing across the Arteta household.

“My kids showed it to me the other day — and with a close camera because normally we look with a wide-angled,” stated the Arsenal manager. “With a close camera, you can see the moments that he has produced, you can see they are incredible. 

“It’s a lot of work from a lot of people and big credit to them and especially to David and now we have the three most important games. Hopefully, we don’t have to see any of those saves because that will mean we could have done things better a bit earlier.”

Arteta confirmed that Arsenal had initially made their move for Raya in the summer of 2020 when Emiliano Martinez left — as CBS Sports revealed when he eventually arrived three years later — as he hailed his No.1’s impact on the squad. 

“The quality that he has, the willingness that he has every single day to learn and to work and his work ethic, his mentality and his approach to every training session is outstanding and is phenomenal,” he stated.

When you have that, when you have a goalkeeping coach who is as demanding as him as well, then you have a team, which functions individually but also collectively to show what they can do then it’s a good mixture. What David has done for us in the past few years has been incredible.”

As Arsenal have shown a stomach for the battle so have supporters who had been so skittish in the low point of that losing run, a 1-0 home loss against Bournemouth in which the Emirates Stadium fed off the energy their players were giving them in the worst possible way. Perhaps that was just a day of tension the fanbase needed to get out of its system. Against Fulham, they were given football to get behind and roared their approval for the halftime whistle, to say nothing of the goals. The win over Atletico Madrid delivered a sea of red smoke the likes of which north London has never seen.

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That will be reprised, organizers hope, in greater numbers when Burnley turn up at the Emirates Stadium. 

“Our 12th man and the magic player,” Arteta stated of the stadium. “When the stadium provides that level of energy, passion and optimism, they play every single action with the team. When we have the ball, when the opponent has the ball, in every element, they live the game like that. The value of that is just infinite. I think you cannot measure it and the team becomes different. It is as simple as that.

Reflecting on the tension of the Bournemouth defeat, Arteta added, “It’s something normal. I think it’s supposed to be like this and especially when you haven’t won for that long, it’s going to be edgy and it’s going to be those moments of doubt. And I’m very glad that now we’ve turned that point and we are very optimistic, but being very, very present as well.”

It seems then that those on and off the field at the Emirates have shaken off those April blues.

How to watch Arsenal vs. Burnley

  • Date: Monday, May 18 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
  • Location: Emirates Stadium — London
  • TV: USA
  • Odds: Arsenal -1200; Draw +1100; Burnley +2800