Try GOLD - Free
Arsenal failed to impress but Arteta has cleared the trickiest first hurdle of title contenders
The Guardian
|August 19, 2025
There was a thought at times in the second part of last season, when the set-piece goals dried up, that Arsenal had become over-reliant on them.
And perhaps that was true, but they're a useful weapon to have. Some games are won by overwhelming opponents through superior technical ability and some games are won by organisation and hard work, by finding a way to score and a way to keep their opponent out. Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday was definitely one of the latter.
It's not that Arsenal were fortunate or that they somehow didn't deserve to win, if that is a concept with any meaning; rather it was the thought that against a more coherent or incisive side than United, they will need to play rather better. Winning without playing well, though, has not often been the Arsenal way recently; in that sense, there was perhaps encouragement to be drawn from the hard-earned nature of the three points.
This story is from the August 19, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian
The Guardian
Albanese rules out link between gunmen and wider terrorist cell
Investigators in Australia have dismissed suggestions that two gunmen who opened fire on a crowd celebrating a Jewish festival in Sydney on Sunday, killing 15 people and injuring dozens, were part of a wider terror network.
4 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
'Show a bit of dog' Stokes makes rallying call as England strive to save Ashes
Ben Stokes has called on his England players to summon up the rage witnessed against India in the summer and show some \"dog\" as they look to keep their slim Ashes hopes alive.
2 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Doctors to strike after rejecting last-ditch offer
Hospitals are cancelling tens of thousands of appointments and operations after resident doctors voted overwhelmingly to reject a last-ditch offer to avoid this week's strike.
3 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Fright and delight from eye-popping illusions
Paranormal Activity
1 min
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Kendal is formidable in a fitting first epitaph to Stoppard
A fortnight after West End playhouses dimmed their lights in tribute to Sir Tom Stoppard, Hampstead theatre's stage lights rise on a revival of his 1995 play Indian Ink, originally intended to mark 30 years since the play's premiere.
2 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Jimmy Lai The rise and fall of Hong Kong's chief 'troublemaker'
Yesterday’s verdict convicting Jimmy Lai of national security offences was expected.
6 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
'A matter of conscience' Heroic bystander's family on why he risked his life
When Ahmed al-Ahmed tackled and wrested a gun from an alleged shooter at Bondi beach, he was simply thinking that he \"couldn't bear to see people dying\", his cousin says.
3 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Prem Rugby to seek investors if RFU backs franchise plan
Prem Rugby is planning to launch a tender process to secure external investment in the competition after it has received formal approval from the Rugby Football Union to become a closed franchise league, which it expects will happen next year.
2 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Tears, flowers and silence: Sydney unites in grief after Bondi horror
Defiant dawn gathering at site by beach where gunmen had opened fire
3 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Maresca’s silence only amplifies the Chelsea noise
If Enzo Maresca was interested in ending speculation that he has a problem with elements of Chelsea’s hierarchy then he would have done so yesterday.
3 mins
December 16, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size