As Aaron Ramsey celebrated in front of an away end full of joy and optimism, the Arsenal supporters broke into euphoric song. ‘We’ve got our Arsenal back,’ came the cry. After this result, a ninth win on the spin, it was hard to begrudge these fans their moment.
Seven weeks is a long time in English football. Back in August, Unai Emery was presented with a gruesome statistic: after two opening defeats, he had made the worst start to life as an Arsenal manager since Thomas Mitchell in 1897.
Now the historical comparisons are different. Arsenal had won nine or more in a row under only three managers — Herbert Chapman, George Graham and Arsene Wenger — and that trio have all won top-division titles.