Mikel Arteta identifies two missing elements that can raise Arsenal’s level

After a familiar scoreline, Mikel Arteta has a new phrase.

The Arsenal manager used some variation on “insist” several times throughout his press conference for the win over Hull City, after his team had almost been left standing at the door.

Martin Odegaard instead offered a captain’s goal, for a third 1-0 win in four in the league. Like many of those, it could have been worse, but could have been better – especially in terms of finishing.

Arsenal currently always feel one setback away from a big discussion about which forward they need to sign in January. They are obviously monitoring a few options, and are expected to do some business, but Arteta clearly doesn’t want his players thinking like that.

He put it down to something else.

When asked about what was actually a sixth win by one goal out of 10 Premier League games so far, he said they “need to be more efficient”.

It could be argued that such a return is the height of efficiency, and that Arsenal could have been further ahead had they benefited from that debated penalty decision – but you know what he meant, especially with regard to finishing.

Arteta lamented how his team had two further one-on-ones in the game, only to waste them. He said it was like they “are trying to score the perfect goal”.

That’s another familiar refrain with this club, if from a different era to the 1-0s. Arteta’s desired solution is to be “more pragmatic”, that they “need to be more chaotic”.

That’s undeniably true, but the manager being the one to say this poses some questions of his own.

Another phrase that Arteta used was “volume”. That, when you face a defence as well structured as Hull City, you need to be “generating volume”. In other words, numbers, a critical mass of chances where you eventually score – which is pretty much what they did. Insistence.

Martin Odegaard took advantage inside the box to earn Arsenal a slender win (PA)

It’s been discussed on these pages before that Arteta is a huge “probabilities guy”, where he sees almost every game as an equation. If Arsenal consistently generate an xG of 2 or above and limit the opposition to 0.5, they are likely to win enough games to win the league.

A natural extension of this is an exactingly calibrated team, where Hull City players – like so many others – were left praising “the shape”.

But is that mentality something that encourages “pragmatism” or, as Arteta elaborated, “chaos”? Other descriptions for that are sparkle, ingenuity… magic.

That’s hard to find sufficient space for in a system that demands a lot of energy devoted to pressing and structure.

Odegaard, the match-winner, is almost the ultimate example. The playmaker is capable of some of the most ingenious and exquisite touches in the league, but it does not feel like he is as characterised by that as much any more.

When you ask people at Arsenal about him, in fact, they praise how he understands Arteta’s pressing better than anyone else. This is why he is captain and what they were said to really miss last season when he was out. Odegaard leads the press. When he goes, everyone immediately knows when and where to follow.

Mikel Arteta said that his team need to be more pragmatic in front of goal (Getty)

An irony is that Noni Madueke is one of the most chaotic players in the league – in a good way. He is a rare attacker that takes people on. As is the case when you see his and Christos Tzolis’s names on the teamsheet, you don’t quite know what you’re going to get in terms of performance level. Club insiders say it could be anything between a two and an eight out of 10.

The most frustrating thing about Madueke, in fact, is that he usually ends such runs with a predictable cross rather than real variation. He doesn’t shoot enough, which touches on Arteta’s point about trying to score “a perfect goal”.

All of this came together for a moment that should have sealed the win.

Arsenal’s attack put together a brilliant flowing move at 1-0, to leave Madueke through for one of those one-on-ones. It was close to perfect. Until, with just Konstantinos Tzolakis to beat, Madueke tried to roll the ball past him only to get his feet wrong.

While the forward clearly has potential, the point of this is that Arsenal still feel at least one attacker – but arguably two – away from really being at the level they want to be.

Hull were impressive at the Emirates Stadium and unfortunate not to get something from the game (Reuters)

It should be stressed that their current level isn’t exactly much of a problem. They’ve won nine out of 10 in the league. They’re brilliantly efficient in everything outside the scoring.

Even this match has to be put in the context of a tough match against a very respectable Hull City side. They’re so well structured you can see them being this season’s Sunderland.

Arsenal were known to be impressed afterwards, with Arteta especially respectful. His team still get through, and you can see them being convincingly ahead by Christmas.

But the league isn’t the level anymore. It’s about beating Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, about being European champions as well as English champions.

That is something they really have to insist on.