Arsenal’s 4 biggest surprises so far this season

What a season it has been so far, not just for Arsenal. We’ve gone from having the Premier League title race being wrapped up, to seeing the Gunners claw their way out of a relegation battle.

And there is still so much left to play for.

Before the season kicked off the realistic targets for this team were a return to European football in some capacity. The Europa Conference League not included, mind you.

Signing the players they did over the summer – a £150m outlay on six new faces – the vision for what Arsenal wanted to achieve in the future was evident. Would that include the Champions League? Near enough everyone thought not.

Arsenal: 4 biggest surprises so far this Premier League season as Mikel Arteta’s side continue chasing a Champions League place

Yet here we are with a top four finish in sight. While it would be overachieving on account of the general consensus pre-season, it would now be a major disappointment were it not to be clinched. Ten more cup finals stand between Arsenal and their last remaining goal this season.

Along the way we’ve been surprised, both positively and negatively.

Arsenal have managed to plunge supporters down to the very depths just as they’ve united the club closer than they’ve been in years. The fans are with the players every step of the way and whatever the table looks like come the end of May, the future is bright.

What were some of those surprises, then? There have been plenty, with four in particular standing out.

The Turnaround in Fortunes

Starting right back at the beginning, any fans who felt the top four was beyond the Gunners’ reach were firmly in that camp just three matches into the season. It was bleak, and perhaps even bleaker than anticipated.

Three games in and the table read three matches played, three defeats, zero goals scored and, crucially, zero points. The worst start to a league season in 67 years was as low as a large contingent of the fanbase had ever sunk. Having ended the previous season strongly with five consecutive wins, these were new depths.

While the top four is still going to require a monumental effort to secure, the fact Arsenal are even in the conversation at all is quite remarkable. Nobody saw this coming. Only the truest believers in Arteta and the team could have foreseen anything of the sort.

It’s been a huge surprise. A most welcome one.

Home form has been key to the surge with the only three defeats at the Emirates coming against Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, while the collective and individual improvements across the team have been joyous to behold.

As it is they have achieved nothing, but the turnaround is one to treasure and one to draw real excitement from. As fans, we want to see more.

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