It appeared on more than one occasion last season that Arsene Wenger would not see his 21st anniversary in charge of Arsenal. The debate over Wenger’s ongoing worth to the Gunners had reached fever pitch, with two sides entrenched in preaching either protest against or patience with the manager. The period was so damaging that chief executive Ivan Gazidis insisted it would be a “catalyst for change”.
This season’s two international breaks provide an intriguing snapshot: after losing 4-0 at Liverpool, their campaign threatened to implode before it had properly begun yet following this 2-0 win over Brighton, they are fifth in the table, level on points with champions Chelsea.
Arguments over Wenger’s future can be distilled to one point: is he capable of masterminding a genuine and sustained challenge for the Premier League title?
Nothing is won in the first week of October but Arsenal continue to provide mixed messages over the answer to that pivotal question, much more so than their rivals and specifically the two Manchester clubs.
Beating Brighton in the manner they did was a perfect case. Either side of the game, television pundits suggested Arsenal would not finish in the top four, while inside the ground satisfaction gave way to pockets of agitation at what became a needlessly anxious final 20 minutes.
The Gunners are unbeaten since that defeat at Liverpool but there is nothing necessarily new in that: as highlighted by Standard Sport last week, Arsenal have statistically averaged the most points per game (2.15) during September and October since Wenger took charge in 1996.
There were moments of sublime quality in Arsenal’s attacking — none more so than the superb interplay that climaxed with Alexis Sanchez’s sumptuous backheel for Alex Iwobi to score, doubling the home side’s lead after Nacho Monreal’s 16th-minute opener.
Yet enthusiasm was tempered by that nervy finale against a team with limited ambition, unwilling to fully open up in fear of a battering until too late.
Typically, Wenger was low key when commenting on his latest milestone. The Frenchman is not prone to looking back on his career but his reluctance to do that now is influenced by the knowledge the jury remains out on whether it was the right decision for all concerned to agree a new two-year contract.
In Pictures | Arsenal vs Brighton | 01/10/2017
“I wouldn’t like too much to reflect on that,” Wenger told Standard Sport. “I kept my focus on my job, always under good and bad circumstances.
“When you are 21 years somewhere, you know you have good and bad moments. Nobody can make 21 years and only fly, so what I love in the game is to deal with bad moments and find the response.
“I knew that after the game at Liverpool everybody did write us off, I knew that it just depends on us how much we respond.
“Nothing is permanent, you are not bad in a permanent way if you can do something about it and you’re not good in a permanent way if you don’t keep your urgency, so we responded in a united way and we could put some wins together and some good performances as well.”
That response gives him hope for the stiffer tests lie. They resume at Watford on Saturday week before League matches against Everton and Swansea, prior to facing Manchester City away and Tottenham at home.
The Gunners have won 11 consecutive matches at Emirates Stadium in all competitions, dating back to a 2-2 draw against City on April 2 — further evidence of progress given the difficulties of last term — but it will not be until they face Pep Guardiola’s side again that their title credentials will be more accurately gauged.
“It’s very early, seven games played, 31 to go,” said the Frenchman. “Last year after six games, Manchester City was top with 18 points [and ended the season in third place], so let’s not go to pick conclusions. They played outstanding on Saturday but it’s a long way to go.”
His opposite number Chris Hughton — the 45th Premier League manager Wenger has beaten, a record surpassing Sir Alex Ferguson by one — could only marvel like many before him at the 67-year-old’s longevity.
“As a member of the League Managers’ Association, what you want to see is good people in good jobs in English football,” he said.
“For what he has achieved here and still be managing for that length of time is an outstanding achievement. He is only doing it because he has won things here. It has been a little bit less in recent years but he has built something here. It is good to see him in our game.”
The problem for Wenger is that judgments of Arsenal are not confined to the current campaign and instead include past years of cyclical failure.
Every defeat may be a “scar in my heart”, as Wenger eloquently puts it, but they also open up old wounds, reinforcing longstanding views of a team and staff trapped in a footballing Groundhog Day.
For now, victories like this one show Arsenal are in the part of the film where Bill Murray’s character uses the familiarity to his advantage. The task ahead is to write a different ending and Wenger knows it only too well.