What Arsenal's dramatic Luton win taught us about its title chances

The proof is in the reaction to Arsenal's unexpected victory. Gunners across the globe celebrated as if their team had won the title because, in many ways, it had. The ability to turn difficult away draws into wins is what separates the top teams in the league from the also-rans. Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright's reaction in the Optus Sport punditry studio said it all: this win had massive implications for Arsenal's title chances.

Who were the key players in Arsenal's season-defining win, and what can we learn from them? 

Declan Rice

Arsenal paid $138M for the English midfielder, and it looks like he's worth every cent of it. Brought in over the summer to replace bleeding-heart Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, many worried that Rice would be too weak and too attack-minded to do Xhaka's job well. Those worries appear to have been unfounded, and Rice's link-up play between defensive midfield and attack has been nothing short of transformational.

Leandro Trossard

The Belgian midfielder didn't get on the scoresheet against Luton, but his presence was massive for the Gunners nonetheless. Trossard may well be the best happy accident in Premier League transfer history. Determined to sign Ukrainian midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal was forced to scramble at the last minute when Chelsea tempted Mudryk away with a massive salary package. Instead of paying nearly $100M for Mudryk, Arsenal wound up spending a fifth of it on Trossard--and Trossard's Premier League contributions have blown Mudryk's out of the water ever since.

Trossard is one of those creative utility players that title-winning teams need available. He's a spark plug, someone who thrives as a game-changing substitute, and the energy and verve he brings to Arsenal's second halves is one of the key reasons it's able to close out games.

David Raya

We've covered two players who are net positives toward Arsenal's title challenge; here's one whose benefit is not yet clear. Raya unseated Aaron Ramsdale in goal at the start of the season, ostensibly because of his superior on-the-ball skills, but Raya was directly at fault for two of Luton's three goals last night and his dribbling hasn't appeared to be substantially better than Ramsdale's.

Mikel Arteta's head-scratching decision to allow Raya and Ramsdale to compete for the starting goalkeeper role has unsettled both instead of inspiring them to be better. Arteta appears to have thrown his weight behind Raya for the time being, but the fact of the matter remains: with a stronger goalkeeper, Arsenal might not have needed to conjure up a last-minute 4-3 victory against Luton. It might've simply won 4-0 instead.