Cup final feel already evident in January as Arsenal start New Year with fine win

Bournemouth (1) 2 v Arsenal (1) 3

Premier League

Matchweek 20

Talking Points

By Kaz Mochlinski at the Vitality Stadium

No one with any affection for Arsenal will want to remotely tempt fate in the first week of January, but 2026 could very well be an immense year for the club. And right at the outset it already feels as if every game is going to be like a cup final.

Just in January, out of a total of nine fixtures, there are five huge Premier League matches, which will be crucial in the title race. The four other encounters, in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League, may feel like light relief in comparison.

Despite the disappointment recently of not yet securing a first championship since 2004, with three runner-up finishes in three successive seasons, plus the absence of any major trophy since 2020, the collective impression is not of trepidation.

There is an overwhelming buzz of excitement, from the players and the coaching group, plus the fanbase, about what could be achieved in the coming months. And simply about watching this team grow and develop.

It helps when at the turn of the year you are still in contention in every one of the four competitions that you started out in, leading the tables in both the Premier League and Champions League, plus having reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

It helps too if your side demonstrate the tenacity and spirit, as well as the skill and execution, which Arsenal brought to Bournemouth. Beginning the new year that way was perhaps even more important than getting a win in their initial outing of 2026.

“It demands a lot of energy, a lot of desire, a lot of focus and we have to do it” said Mikel Arteta when contemplating their January schedule. “At this moment I think we have nine games.

“With everything that we already played in the season, the last two months especially, that’s a big ask. But, when I see the involvement and commitment of the players, we have to do it.”

The Arsenal manager and his squad were again extremely grateful to the travelling support for the exceptional backing they received. When Gabriel Magalhães made a catastrophic but very uncharacteristic early mistake, he was not pilloried for it.

Unlike is the case with so many other top clubs, the away section immediately responded by singing Gabriel’s ‘King of Brazil’ song to lift him. Six minutes after being responsible for giving away the opening goal, Gabriel had equalised.

In the space of five days, either side of the New Year festivities, the Brazilian had scored Arsenal’s first goal in two consecutive games, against Aston Villa and at Bournemouth, both times, directly or indirectly, from set-pieces (of course).

The Gooners were similarly supportive of the Gunners when Viktor Gyökeres was substituted, singing the Swede’s song about being prepared even to leave his girlfriend in order to sign for Arsenal.

But, best of all, was Declan Rice’s decisive double-strike being celebrated with a musical double from the stands. The established “We got him half-price” number is no longer enough. A new song was appropriate for the occasion.

His first ever pair of goals in the Premier League was welcomed with “Declan Rice in red and white (I like it)” to the tune of KC and the Sunshine Band’s popular hit ‘That’s the Way (I Like It)’. His manager on the touchline was also approving.

“He’s extremely consistent in everything that you ask him to do and everything that he really wants to do. That’s what makes the difference. First of all, he has the ability and the qualities to achieve that for sure.

“But then you need the consistency to do it. He’s doing it every single day and then you see that kind of performance” Arteta explained, along with underlining that this effort was additionally praiseworthy due to Rice’s recent knee injury.

“Every hour for him was important to be available today. We didn’t know for how long, so, in the manner that he competed, played, and, on top of that, scored two goals, I think it was outstanding, and a really big message for the team.”

Arteta added: “He was so disappointed not to play against Villa. He really wanted it. He tried in the morning, it was nowhere near a possibility. He wanted to train the next day, it wasn’t a possibility.

“Until the last minute l asked him ‘how are you feeling?’ He said ‘I’m in.’ And he showed that he was big time in.” Rice and the rest of the Arsenal team, getting ever closer to possibly something very special.