Luton Town travel to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night with renewed confidence, crediting their spirited performance against Arsenal in December as a turning point in their fight for Premier League survival.
Prior to the December clash, Luton were mired in the relegation zone, having mustered just two wins in their opening 14 top-flight fixtures. Following a demoralising 3-1 loss at Brentford, hosting a title-chasing Arsenal side seemed a daunting prospect.
However, the Hatters defied expectations. Trailing 2-1 at half-time, they emerged with renewed purpose in the second period. Goals from Elijah Adebayo and Ross Barkley stunned the Gunners, briefly putting Luton in front. While Arsenal ultimately snatched a last-gasp winner through Declan Rice, the performance instilled a newfound belief within the Luton squad.
“We tried that at the start of the season, we banked up, went 5-4-1, or two blocks of four and we said go on then, break us down, and teams could,” revealed Luton centre-back Tom Lockyer in an interview with BBC’s Monday Night Club program. “It was boring, the fans couldn’t really get behind us and our fortunes changed when Arsenal came into town.”
Lockyer credits manager Rob Edwards with a pivotal tactical shift. “The gaffer pulled us all at breakfast and said, look, we’re expected to lose this game, how do you want to do it? What we have been doing, we’ve been losing anyway, or we can go back to us. We can go and get after them, we can put them under pressure, we can get the crowd right up behind us, we can get the crowd enjoying it, what they want to see, front-footed football?”
This change in approach has yielded significant results. Since the Arsenal defeat, Luton have become a more expansive and exciting team to watch. They’ve picked up three wins, four draws, and eight defeats in their last 15 games, scoring a remarkable 29 goals in the process.
While defensive frailties remain – they’ve conceded 34 goals in that period – Luton are now on a 17-game run of finding the net in every Premier League match. Can they repeat their December heroics against Arsenal and take another crucial step towards securing their top-flight status? Let’s hope not.