IN HIS pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s game against Sunderland this weekend, Mikel Arteta used the term “execution day” to describe matchday. 

It is another classic Arteta line that builds upon and follows the same lines as his use of the word “finishers” to describe his substitutes. 

There is an air of Mortal Kombat to these labels and this language. Even if meant in a different sense, and not as gory or brutal as a violent video game franchise, there is a sporting ruthlessness to them, which is a trait Arteta will be looking to instil in his team as they look to turn three consecutive second-place finishes into a title win.

Arsenal’s weekend is not just about their game against Premier League surprise package Sunderland. It is also about at least one of their title rivals dropping points, as Manchester City and Liverpool face each other on Sunday.

It has taken just 10 games for Arsenal to open up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, and the meeting between City and Liverpool means they could now extend it even further this weekend.

But Arteta, in typically methodical and process-driven fashion, is not focused on anything other than the execution of their own plan on Wearside.

“It’s about doing it, and once you’ve done it, do it again, and that’s what we have to do,” Arteta said in a can-do fashion ahead of the club’s trip to north-east England.

“Today we train at our best, try to improve, and try to give a lot of clarity to the players and understanding of the game that we have to play tomorrow. 

“Tomorrow is execution day again.”

Arteta knows that topping the league at this stage of the season means very little, and Arsenal themselves have several negative experiences in this regard.

The Gunners have been league leaders at Christmas six times, but on each occasion failed to follow that up with a title win.

The history of football is littered with late surges or collapses that lead to drastic changes at the top of the table in the final months of a season, and there are several examples in the Premier League era, some of them featuring Arsenal.

Man City came from behind to overcome Arteta’s side at the top of the table in 2023, while back in 1998, Arsenal secured a memorable title victory at the end of Arsene Wenger’s first full season in charge, capitalising on Manchester United faltering in the final weeks.
 

It’s obvious that titles are not won in November. They can still be won and lost come April and May, so the period before Christmas is merely a scene-setter rather than an indication of a surefire winner.
 

This Arsenal do look like a title-winning team, though, and the job Arteta has done to get them to this level is perhaps underappreciated.

Arsenal’s Premier League status when he took over in December 2019 is sometimes overlooked when judging the current team. 

That version of Arsenal were far from title-challengers. They were not even a Champions League team and spent six seasons outside of Europe’s top tournament between 2017/18 and 2022/23, failing to qualify for any Uefa competition at all in 2021.

Were it not for an FA Cup win in 2020, Arsenal would have had two seasons in a row without European football of any sort, but despite finishing 8th in the league for consecutive seasons, the cup win was a hint that Arteta could take the club back to the top, and bought him some time to do so.

A fifth-place finish in 2022 was the last time Arsenal finished outside the top two. Since then, they have always been considered title challengers, which in itself is a massive improvement on their previous status as what, for a couple of seasons, could only be defined as a mid-table team. 

The problem for Arsenal is that they’ve always been the second team in that top two, and this is where Arteta needs to find the extra edge in the fine margins.

Title-winning teams almost always have a centre-back pairing recognised as one of the best in the league, and Arsenal certainly have that.

William Saliba and Gabriel are among the best in their position in the world. The latter especially epitomises this Arsenal team, and also plays a big role in the attacking set-piece prowess that has guided them to the top of the table early on in 2025/26.

If the subs are the finishers, then these set-pieces are the finishing moves.

Arsenal have just five goals from open play this season, which is the joint second lowest in the league, but have scored a league-high ten from set-pieces.

Some will say this isn’t pretty (maybe they are gory after all), but set-piece play is as much a part of football as open play. If you can gain the edge there, why not do so? And what’s more entertaining for supporters than crosses going into the mixer, especially when your team regularly has a good chance of scoring from such situations. 

A corner can often be one of the most loudly cheered things outside a goal during a football match, and Arsenal’s travelling fans will be cheering them with good reason today.

Only conceding three goals in these first 10 games also helps, and reinforces the impressive job those Arsenal defenders and goalkeeper David Raya are doing.
 

Arteta obviously uses the terms “execution” and “finishers” in the sense of carrying out a plan, rather than a more sinister medieval, Mortal Kombat sense, but he and his team will also recognise that they need to find some sporting ruthlessness to go from runners-up to winners.

They will be hoping it gives them the edge in this weekend’s unexpectedly testing trip to face surprise-package Sunderland.