When Arsenal beat Real Madrid 5-1 in April, it was considered a turning point for Mikel Arteta and his team in the European arena. The reigning Champions League champions were forced to bow their heads at the Gunners' strength at the time.
Six months later, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid became the next victim. Once again, European teams have to watch Arsenal with both admiration and caution.
The similarity between the two matches in Madrid is that Declan Rice scored from set pieces. But more importantly, Arsenal won not thanks to luck or chaos, but because of their superior ball control and proactive play.
However, defeating Atletico in this way brings a different feeling - perhaps even sweeter and more convincing. This victory may not have a grand atmosphere or historical significance like the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, because the season still has a long way to go.
But if Arsenal simply played well at home against Real Madrid, then against Atletico - a team that has affirmed its position in Europe - they really showed invincibility. This victory gave The Gunners more reason to believe that they can conquer the title this season, instead of just bringing the feeling of the victory over Real last season.
They face Simeone - who has led one of the most demanding defensive teams in Europe for the past decade. And this was not a poor performance by the Spanish representative. Instead, there was a typical Atletico for nearly an hour: annoying, fearful and always knowing how to discourage opponents even if they did not dominate.
However, Arsenal beat Atletico spectacularly - in Simeone's style, the only difference was that they were the team that took the initiative to control the game.
Arsenal seem to have reached a state where they are almost invincible, and that has not happened just once this season. Against a team that scored 5 goals against Real Madrid in La Liga and scored 5 more against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, Arsenal only had one shot on target.
In the last 3 matches, David Raya only had to show his save time once. Since the beginning of the season, only one player - Erling Haaland - has conceded a goal for them in the open game. 3 goals conceded in 12 matches is the best result in Arsenal's history, with 9 clean sheets.
Despite comparisons to the legendary defences of George Graham or Arsene Wenger, Arteta's current defensive system is operating at a higher level.
And that's not everything. Arsenal are also becoming "unreasonable" in set pieces - a weapon that they turn into a superior advantage over any opponent.
After 12 matches, Arsenal have scored 10 goals from set pieces. This number shows the tactical strength and ability to prepare carefully down to every detail of the team under Arteta. The match against Atletico was the fourth time this season that they have scored 2 goals from dead balls in the same match.
No matter how well organized the opponent is, Arsenal can still punish in just one moment. Against Fulham last weekend, Marco Silva's side played tightly until the 58th minute, before Leandro Trossard scored from a corner kick.
Three days later, Atletico repeated that scenario. They held on for nearly an hour, but Gabriel scored from Declan Rice's free kick in the 57th minute. Like an unwritten rule, if you give Arsenal too many set pieces, the goals conceded are just a matter of time.
Some say the Gunners are too dependent on set pieces, but when they operate them at a level that is almost perfect, it is not a weakness, but a destructive weapon.
