Patrick Barclay: Arsenal will only find consistency through good old fashioned hard work

Two extremes: Ozil worked his socks off against United but was far from industrious against Olympiakps
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Patrick Barclay6 October 2015

Even an international break can be enjoyable if you are an Arsenal fan.

The memory of that scintillating victory over Manchester United will provide sustenance until Watford on Saturday week, and meanwhile those who, after the home defeat by Olympiakos, had been calling afresh for an end to the Arsene Wenger era can repent at happy leisure.

But this doesn’t mean Champions League failures can be forgotten. Or wholly forgiven. Indeed the gulf between Arsenal’s best and worst performances must be reduced if they are to punch the weight of 60,000 spectators.

How can it be done? Wenger knows. And, while I wish there were some tweak that could be devastatingly revealed as the key to consistency, the truth lies in a common old remedy identified by and attributed to, among others, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Goldwyn and the golfers Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.

Yes, the harder Wenger and his players work, the luckier they get.

It may seem ironic, given the philosophical differences between Wenger and his arch foe Jose Mourinho but only when Arsenal run the hard yards pounded by Chelsea last season do they become the Arsenal of Wenger’s dreams. There should be no surprise, really.

Player Ratings: Arsenal vs Manchester United

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Only by feverish work, notably in retrieving the ball, do Barcelona become the Barcelona so beloved for their skills.

Arsenal are good — enough to resemble Barca when in Sunday’s mood — but not so good that they can coast or display the languor Mesut Ozil’s admirers claim to be illusory. Against United the wonderfully gifted midfielder almost matched the workrate of Alexis Sanchez (or Hector Bellerin) and the transformation was complete.

Sustain it and the Premier League title could be Arsenal’s. Especially if they get themselves knocked out of Europe completely.

It’s an argument for another day — the night Bayern Munich come to the Emirates, to be precise — and the main thing is that they now have the domestic equipment, if they care to use it.

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