What Mikel Arteta did to UEFA referee to highlight Arsenal record importance amid title warning

When will this incredible run end, and how will Arsenal and their players respond?

These were the two questions that I found myself asking internally as the Gunners wrapped up a 3-0 win on the road in Europe. Mikel Merino scoring twice and Bukayo Saka breaking the deadlock from the spot were what brought home the victory.

However, when the referee initially gave Slavia Prague a late penalty which would have had no bearing on the overall result regardless of had it been scored, I felt a sudden sense of dread and uncertainty.

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Now, admittedly, that might have had something to do with the match reportthat had been cultivated around the 122 year record that Arsenal eventually equalled on the full-time record, landing their eighth clean sheet in a row.

Yet, it was also because this perfect run of wins without conceding a single goal has become almost defining in the evolution of this Arsenal team from last season. Injuries ravaged the squad, 27 separate incidents condemning any hope of beating a Liverpool side, who fortunately for them, had their stars fit for majority of the campaign.

So the relief when the VAR instructed a rethink of the decision, which showed Ben White not only clearly make contact on the ball but the rebound hitting the arm of Lukas Provod, was significant.It seemed that way, too, for Mikel Arteta.

Watching the referee run to the side of the field, Arteta was full of applause for the inevitable overturn that would follow. Asking the Spaniard after the match, he explained perfectly how frustrating it would have been to lose the record in such a way.

“I wasn't happy at all,” he said. “I clearly saw that there could never be a penalty, but he made the decision.

“So, yes, well done because he was really honest. I think, obviously, it’s not a penalty.

“I want to maintain that [record] because I think that gives you something to defend as well and to merit. It would have been a bit sloppy to give it away that way.”

To lose the run to a poor penalty decision would have been gutting and overwhelmingly unfair. But it sparked that question of when the run ends, and it will end, how will the team react?

Would it arguably have been better to lose the run in a game where the win was already secured and in so doing take away the potential added mental blow that comes with in with the scoreline tied, or worse, that would see Arsenal in an alien-like state of trailing…

When the goal eventually does come, be that at Granit Xhaka’s Sunderland at the weekend, the North London Derby after the international break or the rather ridiculously impressive Bayern Munich side who are setting records themselves in winning, that moment will tell us plenty about this side and their capacity to win the league.

So many have already pegged Arsenal as champions, many feeling they might, after all this time, waltz their way to ending the painful 22-year wait to lift the Premier League trophy. It seems unlikely still, even with the frailties and inconsistencies of their rivals, that this will be the reality.

To be champions, it requires great quality and often a large chunk of luck. However, it also requires mental resilience and focus. When runs get established, how the team responds when they fall will be telling in their ability to see this mission through to the end.

It is perhaps lost on many of those who are not locked into the club just how significant the pressure on the squad is. Yes, they might have added eight players in the summer, but the loss of all three senior centre-forwards in addition to their club captain, Martin Odegaard and wingers Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli, should not be underestimated.

Players have stepped into the fold like Merino and led by example. Leandro Trossard, a senior member of the group, is having a solid campaign despite plenty of calls in the summer from some supporters to see his time as starting left winger come to an end.

It remains a position that might yet and arguably should be upgraded in the near future, but the Belgian is making a strong case that any signing will have to be quite special to wrestle the spot off him.

While Declan Rice, once again, was involved with passes for all three goals. The corner leading to the penalty, the pass to Trossard, who crossed for the second and the lofted ball into the box that Merino would head backwards into the net.

On two yellow cards, the importance of avoiding a booking and so making the match against Bayern was key. Luis Diaz, who was sent off for the German champions against PSG will have no such attendance.

Arsenal need to continue doing what they’re doing, but when this run does end, and again I hate to break it to you, reader, but it will, the Gunners need to show their maturity to put it behind them and step forward again toward the title.