Rob Holding says that Unai Emery told the Arsenal players when he arrived that he wanted to bring a winning mentality to the club, and that’s helping them go into games with confidence.

Arsenal won their seventh game in a row in all competitions at the weekend, beating Watford 2-0. Arguably it was one of the biggest tests of that run, considering Watford were fourth in the table before the clash.

The team had to work hard to grind out the win, only opening the scoring in the final 10 minutes. Holding said afterwards that there’s renewed belief in the squad now, thanks to Emery.

“He said when he came in that he wanted to bring a winning mentality and I think you get that from wins and you go into each game confident,” Holding explained. “We’re physically fit and we know that we can go and get the result.”

That emphasis on physical fitness is something the new head coach highlighted from day one at the club. He admitted from the start that he couldn’t guarantee results, but he could guarantee the team would work hard.

Arsenal’s player fitness levels are paying dividends on the pitch already. In the last five Premier League wins, the Gunners haven’t been ahead at half-time on a single occasion. Towards the end of each game, they’ve worn their opponents down, until they make the breakthrough and win the match.

Hopefully, they’ll keep confidence high with another victory in Azerbaijan on Thursday.