Arsenal say they will 'attack' the Premier League title: We're still waiting to see it

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta claimed on the eve of this season that he wanted his side to "attack the title" rather than defend it. We're all still waiting to see the Gunners shift into gear. Of course, it might not matter. The Gunners' impressive squad depth was on show once more on Sunday as Noni Madueke's deflected 80th-minute winner secured a hard-fought 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. It is their 10th win from 11 matches across all competitions this season and -- assuming Manchester City are punished for their 114 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules -- then Arsenal are the overwhelming favourites to retain the league they won for the first time in 22 years. Their only defeat thus far came at Brighton prior to the international break, and results offer Arteta an easy counter to any suggestion they had to regain their momentum in three matches since. "You play 11 games, you win 10 and you lose momentum? So, what is it then? Then you have to win every game and that's extremely difficult to do and nobody else does it," he said, understandably. But Sunday offered another game where you would've been entitled to expect a little more -- especially given Arteta's desire to dominate opponents with greater conviction than they managed last season. It was an example of the sort of word-play Arteta likes. By definition, champions are tasked with "defending" the title but Arteta challenged the inherent caution in that phrase, instead urging his players to go on the front foot in search of more silverware. They ended Sunday with 75% possession -- more than they had in any league game last season -- but just one shot on target. It was, in truth, a tough watch. Some of that was down to Forest's 5-4-1 shape and diligent rearguard action, which was restricted to sporadic counter-attacks as Liam Delap tried his best to carry the fight, often alone, in the final third. But there is a sense that this Arsenal side is still yet to become the all-conquering force Arteta wants them to be. For long periods at Forest, it was easy for minds to drift back to the summer, when the club went in search of a top-class addition to their forward line only to end up empty-handed. Christos Tzolis arrived from Club Brugge and started the season well prior to his current hamstring injury but Arsenal laid the groundwork in deals for Morgan Rogers, Vinícius Júnior and Julián Álvarez in vain. Arteta is consequently left to shuffle what he must feel is an incomplete pack. Left wing, the issue identified all summer, remains unconvincing and it is an enduring irony of Sunday's victory that the goal came from that flank. With Tzolis absent, expectations were high that Eberechi Eze could seize a chance to kickstart his Arsenal career. Twenty-one touches and one moment where he ran the ball out of play aimlessly later, he was hauled off at half-time for Madueke. Cameras caught Eze sat deep in thought on the touchline and Bruno Guimarães might be in a similar place after another start in which he helped Arsenal control the midfield without adding a way to unlock Forest's defence. "Three days ago [against Lille] he scored a goal, he should have scored three and we were all happy," said Arteta. "This is football. One day it is brilliant, the next day... especially with attacking players, to play against a team that defends with ten players in and around the box, the nine dropping in on the edge with a Christmas Tree [formation], it is extremely difficult to get in there but that's where you need fresh legs, a different profile and try different things." It is three years since Arsenal didn't have a shot on target in the first 70 minutes of a Premier League game. Declan Rice wasted their best chance shortly after that unwanted milestone when blazing over from Jurriën Timber's cutback -- the one flowing move Arsenal produced all afternoon. And then Madueke struck, rewarded for a rare show of directness and purpose as he drove in from the left with a shot which deflected off Jair Cunha and past a helpless Matz Sels in goal. For the third consecutive game, Arsenal's substitutes made the decisive contribution. As Arteta would put it, the "finishers" finished. "If you are needed after 60 minutes, 45 minutes and sometimes two minutes, we have a squad now that can deliver in moments and we have to use that," he said. The end is currently justifying the means. They have 18 points from seven matches. Only twice -- and not since 2007-08 -- have they had more after seven games in Premier League history. Arteta's version of dominance is to suffocate an opponent into submission. The strength of Arsenal's defence and midfield combined with gamechangers off the bench makes this possible. But if the fine-margin football that won them the title last season was readily justifiable given the weight of history they were battling against, neutrals are entitled to expect more this time, especially given Arteta's declaration before a ball was kicked. Since he became Arsenal manager in December 2019, the Gunners' 32 wins by a 1-0 scoreline is the joint-highest in the Premier League alongside Everton. It may well be enough to achieve their aims. But surely there is more to come.