Arsenal: 3 things to improve despite unbeaten run

Arsenal have the chance to go ten matches unbeaten in all competitions when struggling Watford head to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday – and confidence is brimming.

While the previous international break was a welcome opportunity to reset the batteries and pick apart everything that had gone desperately wrong over the first three Premier League fixtures, this one arrives at a less convenient time.

The current streak is closing in on the best seen under Mikel Arteta – when Arsenal also went ten games unbeaten between January and February 2020 – although the general outlook around the club is brighter.

A host of players will be jetting off to represent their countries once more as the World Cup qualifying matches wind down, with just the one fixture to go before then.

3 things for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to improve despite going nine matches unbeaten ahead of Watford in the Premier League on Sunday

The simple matter of taking on Liverpool at Anfield follows that, but Arsenal can hardly be better placed to travel to Merseyside even if there is no team in world football who doesn’t fear the prospect of taking on Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Vast improvements in many quarters have seen Arsenal embark on this current unbeaten run but, despite that, nobody is under any illusions that this team is anywhere near perfect and amid this nine-game stretch there have been elements of performances that will have been looked at as areas in need of tweaking.

But they are all positive steps as opposed to outright issues. Each one is a byproduct of others. With this team it’s all about progression and as they begin to master certain components new ones will arise. Here are three things to work on.

1. Stop the Backline Sinking Too Deep

Gabriel and Benjamin White are growing into one of the success stories of the club’s recent recruitment with the pair forming what is starting to become a formidable partnership.

Even in their short time together they’ve added physicality, stability, progression and structure to the team, allowing Arsenal to push their defensive line up higher and defend leads with relative comfort.

They can be guilty of dropping too deep, though.

This isn’t entirely their doing, of course, as the team in general has found itself taking the natural route of sitting off teams a few yards too many when gaining the lead in matches. There is an almost subconscious desire to drop off, something most sides do, but there is a point where the line needs to be drawn. Quite literally, in fact.

A team growing and learning, the periods where they’ve faced sustained pressure from the likes of Palace and Leicester will act as huge learning curves to everyone. A great deal of experience is gained from managing such game states.

Finding ways to avoid those game states being as long and as arduous is the next step, much of which will come from being more confident to play higher up the pitch.

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