Arsenal: The 5 massive positives Mikel Arteta has inspired

3. Rejuvenated senior players

Based on what Arteta said when he first arrived at the club, if you expected him to gut the squad and overhaul it, turning to young players to usurp the underwhelming veterans, you would not have been alone. In fact, I was very much one of them. And I could not have been more wrong.

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Arteta laid down the gauntlet to his senior players, but instead of replacing them, he trusted them to respond and emerge. And that is precisely what they have done.

Mesut Ozil is working harder than ever, even if his production is still lacking. Shkodran Mustafi looks renewed at centre-half, especially since making a critical error against Chelsea and responding superbly. Lucas Torreira has been restored to his rightful position, Dani Ceballos has performed well since being ushered back into the starting XI more recently, while Nicolas Pepe started to show glimpses of his potential.

And then there is Granit Xhaka, who was on the verge of leaving the club. Arteta talked him into staying, crafted a perfect central midfield position for his skill set. Xhaka responded in turn, producing several inspired performances as a deep-lying conductor. Arsenal’s form has improved markedly under Arteta, and at the heart of it is the rejuvenation of their senior players.