Arsenal Vs Bournemouth: 3 improvements Mikel Arteta has made

1. Arteta trusts the kids

Arsenal have the youngest team in the Premier League by average age. There is no team in the league with youth production like theirs. They have six starters aged 20 or younger and only nine over the age of 25. And it is the kids, specifically the youngest, who have become the most prolific.

With 10 on the season, Gabriel Martinelli is the second-highest scorer this squad. Similarly, Bukayo Saka leads the team in assists with six and now has three games with a goal and an assist, the only Arsenal player to have achieved such a feat this season. Both are 18. And that’s just the beginning.

Against Bournemouth, everyone played a part. Joe Willock’s runs from the midfield set up both goals in style. Eddie Nketiah tapped home for the eventual game-winner. Saka and Martinelli were both sharp, the former earning a well-deserved Man of the Match award.

And Arteta’s use of them has been masterful. He has been careful and avoided injuries when possible, keen to not overwork them at such a young age, but in general, he has trusted them to turn around games from the off the bench and start matches, even against the best of opposition. And with the Spaniard’s help, they are not just changing games; they are turning around the entire team.

Arsenal have turned a losing slide into a winning streak. Much of that is due to Arteta. And nowhere else was Arteta’s effect on the players and team more evident than against Bournemouth.