Arteta enjoying winning feeling

MIKEL ARTETA is probably as well placed as anyone to offer perspective on an Arsenal season that resembled a car crash during the opening weeks before being transformed into what can now justifiably be described as a title challenge.

Drafted in unexpectedly from Everton on transfer deadline day in the wake of the chastening 8-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, the midfielder made his debut in the home win over Swansea, the result that finally got the club’s campaign underway.

After an initial stutter. Wenger’s side has progressed in an increasingly serene fashion with Saturday’s routine demolition of Wigan the latest emphatic statement of their growing unity as a team. The manager always maintained they would push on when the new players — Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Gervinho — started to gel and he has been proved right.

They have been helped on their way by the extraordinary efforts of Robin van Persie of course, a striker who, right now, appears blessed. The Holland forward scored his side’s final goal, his 14th league goal of the season, but, tellingly, the damage had been done before his 78th minute contribution by less celebrated colleagues.

Van Persie has now scored 32 goals in the calendar year and is on course to surpass Alan Shearer’s Premier League record tally of 36, but if Arsenal are going to build on an encouraging run that has lifted them back among the chasing pack trailing Manchester City, they must rely on the efforts of more than one man. Hence the contribution of Arteta, scorer of the opening goal, and others are being scrutinised just as closely.

For the Spaniard, there is surely relief that having finally got a move to a Champions League club, he has not caught them in a state of decline, although for a while it looked this might be a switch that turned sour.

“It is always hard when you join a club that has changed five or six players,” Arteta said. “They were in a difficult situation but we knew we had the players and that we could change the situation. The boss had plenty of confidence in the players as we knew we had ability. We now have no option to keep winning — and it will not be easy.

“My goal initially was to be close to the top before Christmas and now, we are. There is a small gap with us and second. We are coming into a crucial period when you can see teams open big gaps and we have to continue our run.”

Hopefully, from Arsenal’s point of view, that will also mean van Persie continuing his run. Arteta may have been allowed an easy passage before scoring in the 28th minute, as was Thomas Vermaelen when he headed the second a minute later. Gervinho, meanwhile, benefited from Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi’s failure to deal with van Persie’s shot to make it three in the 61st minute.

The leading scorer inevitably joined in, combining with Theo Walcott in the 78th minute to complete the scoring and ensure the focus remains on his continuing success in front of goal.

“Why not?” replied Wenger when asked if the forward could beat Shearer’s record. “But what is important is that the team plays well.

“Robin played well in an outstanding team performance today and he was rewarded by scoring a goal as well. Overall, if the team plays well, Robin will score. He has had an outstanding season so let’s just hope we can fit.

“I think he has played around 48 games in the calendar year and that is maybe the best he has played.”

If only Roberto Martinez had similar issues to wrestle with. His Wigan side sank to the foot of the table and have scored two league goals fewer — 12 — than van Persie has managed this season on his own.

Things might have been different had Jordi Gomez made more of a good seventh-minute chance but after falling two behind, they were spent as a force. Relegation already looks likelier than not but the manager maintained his optimism: “Today was a hiccup,” he said. “We need to understand why and learn from it. We are not going to be judged on a result against Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United. That’s a bonus if we can get a positive result.

“We know we are catching up and we need to get back the extra six points we lost to earlier in the season. That’s the job we have in the second half of the season.”

That second half of the campaign is unlikely to be dull for either side.