Arsenal: 3 takeaways from Mikel Arteta’s Premier League table

2. Goal surrendered

So much has been said about the defense that Mikel Arteta has installed. Somehow, he has taken Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, Sokratis as a rightback and Bukayo Saka as a leftback and built it into the third-best defense in the whole of England. That’s just plain insanity.

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The only teams who have surrendered fewer goals in this period are Liverpool and United, with Sheffield United tied with us. Just nine goals surrendered.

It’s been a philosophical change. The personnel hasn’t changed at all. On paper, the personnel has gotten worse. We don’t have a single healthy fullback and our centerbacks are both notoriously bad defenders. Yet Arteta has crafted it into a defense that gives up less than a goal per match and can stand up to every other top defense in the league.

That is a huge step that will only improve this summer when Arteta has a chance to sort out the personnel changes needed to build out this defense.

Next up, the big one at No. 1.