Arsenal’s calm win over Aston Villa hints at title-winning mentality | Jonathan Wilson

It’s still very early days; the picture has not yet been cleared up. Is what we’re seeing a coincidence or part of a pattern? Just one of those things or a distinct flaw? A fluke or a recognisable feature? That’s one reason why there’s been so much talk about the chaos at Chelsea: the current antics follow two years of chaos at Chelsea; it’s probably safe to assume that the ongoing sense of chaos is real and a chaotic 6-2 win at Wolves on Sunday won’t change that.

That’s also why Manchester City’s win at Chelsea last week felt so ominous. Chelsea forced two draws against City last season; if City could beat them so easily, even with a number of players returning from their summer efforts, when are they going to drop points this season? Where is the chance for other teams?

Which brings us to Arsenal. Last season they took 89 points. In any era before the world of Sheikh Mansoor-owned, Pep Guardiola-coached Manchester City, that would have been not just a title-winning season but one of sheer dominance. It was just one point less than they took in their invincible season. But in the modern era of stratification in football, with clubs owned by states, oligarchs and private equity, that wasn’t enough. And so instead of praising the achievement, you look for faults; what can they improve on?

And so, after one of the greatest Premier League campaigns of all time, Arsenal were criticised for their mentality. They were no good in adversity. Last season, when Newcastle conceded a controversial goal against them, when Fulham came back, when West Ham proved more stubborn than expected, when mistakes let Bayern back into the game, they caved. It was both true and ridiculous. Perfection is a tired ideal; football would be a more attractive place, both emotionally and spectacularly, if a team were allowed to make a few slips – as they always were.

Arsenal lost twice to Aston Villa last season, with Unai Emery’s team winning 2-0 at the Emirates in April handing City the lead in the title race. The season before, Arsenal had won 4-2 at Villa with two injury-time goals, but it was such a tense affair that it suggested the title race was untenable. Which is why Saturday’s win, with all the caveats of it being only the second weekend of the season, felt so significant.

It could have been the other way around. With the score at 0-0, Ollie Watkins missed a glorious chance and was then denied by a brilliant save from David Raya (when he probably shouldn’t have given the keeper a chance by directing his header closer to the corner). For about an hour, Arsenal offered little threat. But the substitutions changed the game.

On 65 minutes, Jhon Durán and Jacob Ramsey came on for Watkins and John McGinn for Villa, and Leandro Trossard replaced Gabriel Martinelli for Arsenal. Villa’s pressure, so oppressive until then, was eased for a moment. Martin Ødegaard suddenly found space just outside the penalty area. There was an element of luck that Bukayo Saka’s cross found Trossard, but at the other end the Belgian had slipped away from Kosta Nedeljković. Trossard seized the opportunity and suddenly the dynamic of the game had changed.

After Manchester United’s defeat at Brighton, their manager, Erik ten Hag, spoke of the need to be clinical in both boxes. This was the sort of thing he meant. This was essentially an even contest: the xG had Villa winning 1.2-0.9. But Trossard took his chance and Watkins took neither, in one case being denied by a remarkable save. The question then is whether this was essentially random, or whether such things are reproducible.

Saturday’s victory could be portrayed as an Arsenal masterclass, drawing Villa’s sting, keeping them at bay and then crushing them. Or it could be seen as a way for them to get away with it, given that last season’s Premier League fourth-top scorer, the forward who scored England’s last goal in the Euro semi-final with icy precision, was having a rare off day. The truth almost certainly lies somewhere in between.

But what Arsenal are encouraged by is that they remained calm. There was no panic, as was the case in some tough games last season. It is too early to know for sure whether that is evidence of a tougher approach, but there is at least a hint of that. More specifically, it is a win in a game they lost last season; in that sense, they are currently three points ahead.

The problem for them is that City, having won at Chelsea and then knocked out Ipswich with almost nonchalant audacity, are now two points ahead from the corresponding games last season and, moreover, seem to have no sympathy whatsoever.

• This is an excerpt from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, the Guardian US’s weekly look at the game in Europe and beyond. Register here for free. Got a question for Jonathan? Email him at soccerwithjw@theguardian.com and he’ll feature the best answer in a future edition