Okay, so we should of course remind ourselves that the Hatters, fighting relegation, arrived with almost a dozen injured players, forcing Rob Edwards to name numerous teenagers to his squad. Still, Arteta’s much-rotated squad—featuring five changes from the side that held Man City to a scoreless draw last weekend—offered Arteta some valuable lessons and insights into our own options and prospects. Let’s have a quick look, shall we?

The (re-) Emergence of Emile
His injuries over the last year and a half, not to mention Martinelli’s own effervescence, have made it easy to forget just how good Smith Rowe was in 2021-22, when he scored 10 league goals. Making just his first start since October, he put in a POTM-worthy performance, initiating the sequence that led to Ødegaard’s goal and creating the chance if not quite earning the assist on the own-goal. Had Nelson made contact, there’d have been no question. In either case, Smith Rowe ran the show. He showed great humility and dedication in the post-match, saying, “I showed my teammates, players can come in and put in performances, which is good. We are in a title race. It’s hard to get minutes, just have to keep working hard in training. I’m really happy for today. I feel really at home here.” That’s the kind of mentality he and others are going to need as our squad-depth improves and as Arteta learns to trust Smith Rowe and others.

£60 million down the drain…
Ok, so Kai Havertz didn’t score again, but his assist for Ødegaard’s goal brings his goal contributions to 12 in the Prem, matching the most he’s gone for since leaving Bayer Leverkusen where, in his last two seasons there, he notched a total of 39 goal contributions. Aged just 24, it’s easy to forget the tumult and chaos that he endured during three seasons at Chelsea, where he played under six different managers (including Fat Frank twice). For as much as his development stalled, he’s starting to emerge as a vital. fluid (if languid) player. That parenthetical quality has drawn not-entirely favourable comparisons to Mesut Özil, but I’m starting to wonder if a more-apt comparison might be to Dimitar Berbatov, a similarly-elegant player with a sharp eye for goal. If Havertz continues to create for others and convert his chances…

Arteta the Autocrat learning to relax those “dictatorial” tendencies
Many (okay, some) have accused Arteta of being inflexible to the point of becoming a dictator. Nothing is more effective or believable than unhinged hyperbole. While it’s true that Arteta has been guilty of being too stubborn or to principled to compromise, the last few matches have shown a manager growing in confidence and flexibility. His gameplan against Man City worked to near-perfection, rendering Erling Haaland to a lonely isolated cipher and entirely de-fanging Guardiola’s minions. One shot. They had one shot on target. Against the Hatters, Arteta saw the value and the necessity of rotation, resting Rice, Martinelli and Saka, starting Trossard, Smith Rowe and Nelson, and welcoming Partey and Zinchenko back from injury. That kind of rotation was possible in part due to our visitor’s own woes; it was necessary as we look to the weekend trip to face Brighton and the midweek visit from Bayern; it was possible because Arteta is learning to trust more players.

Whether any of this can meaningfully increase our chance at winning the Prem remains to be seen. Liverpool, with a game in hand for at least a few more hours arguably have the easiest run-in, certainly easier than our own, and they’re playing to give Klopp what they see as a fitting send-off. Man City might not much mind that one-point gap, and we already know full-well what they’re capable of.

For as tight as this race is, we do have that one ace-in-the-hole, at least for now. Our goal difference is superior to either Man City’s or Liverpool’s. We may have to hope that that goal difference, combined with dropping at least one point more than any points we drop. The character, the depth, and the maturity that Arteta and this squad have developed from the start of last season to this point make winning the Prem a distinct possibility if not a definite reality. With eight Prem matches to play, and with each of us still dealing with continental commitments, anything can happen…and usually does.