Hard yards ahead in Arsenal's resurrection shuffle

Arsenal don’t do relegations, but there may still be some hard road ahead for their young manager, writes Allan Prosser

Victory over Chelsea has given under-pressure Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta some valuable breathing space after a poor run of results. Picture: Nick Potts/PA

The long day’s journey into night of Arsenal Football Club may have been halted temporarily by Saturday’s inspiring win against Chelsea, but there is distance still to travel before Mikel Arteta can be regarded as a renaissance man.

Anyone with a grasp of history will know that Chelsea can be particularly obliging opposition for an ailing team in search of a morale-boosting victory. Think of Duncan Ferguson’s touchline hugathon last December as Everton climbed out of the relegation zone by thoroughly outplaying the west Londoners. Or Andriy Yarmolenko’s last-minute winner this summer which secured Premier League survival for West Ham.