Analysing Arsenal’s brilliant start to the new season

Arsenal sit atop the Premier League table and have won their opening Europa League group game in what has been a brilliant start for Mikel Arteta’s side. But how good have they been so far?

Heading into pre-season, Arsenal knew they needed to strengthen the squad and cut the club’s deadwood. They did both, and expectations were high heading into the new season.

With a relatively soft schedule, many expected that given the signings Arsenal made, the Gunners should be winning their opening five fixtures.

After an impressive pre-season campaign that saw the Gunners sweep all before them, that would mean nothing if Arsenal did not start the league season with a bang. They did.

A good performance at Selhurst Park ended with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Overall, the Gunners were largely untroubled, but they got the year off to a positive start.

Arteta’s side then produced a superb home performance against Leicester City in a 4-2 win as only individual errors led to goals against. They then followed that up with a 3-0 hammering of Bournemouth.

Analysing Arsenal’s brilliant start to the new season

It was smooth sailing up until then. Against Fulham, Arsenal faced their first bit of adversity of the year. Going down 1-0 at home, the Gunners fought back and secured the three points as they proved they could win ugly.

That was again front and centre against Aston Villa. After going 1-0 up and cruising, a cheeky corner from Douglas Luiz found its way past Aaron Ramsdale to bring Villa level. Arsenal reacted with a Gabriel Martinelli goal a few minutes later to secure the win.

So, the opening three games were a cakewalk of sorts with superb performances, and the next two were riddled with challenging moments that the team were able to ride out.

Then came the true test of Arsenal’s newfound credentials, away to Manchester United. While the scoreline reads 3-1 to the hosts, the Gunners were by far the better team, and it wasn’t close; United were just more clinical.

So, five wins from six games left Arsenal top of the league table and then followed their first foray into Europe against FC Zurich.

The Gunners were again dominant as Marquinhos opened the scoring but again, an individual error let the home side into the game after Eddie Nketiah fouled his Zurich opponent. Again, adversity faced the Gunners as the home side drew level.

Another game that was dominated, yet the Gunners didn’t get their reward in front of goal. Thankfully, Nketiah headed home a Marquinhos cross to give Arsenal a 2-1 win. Nevertheless, a win is a win, and that was all that mattered.

When looking at the start of the season, there can be few complaints. Five wins from six league games and a win in the opening Europa League game. While some performances have left a bit to be desired, Arsenal looked to have improved on last season and are well placed to make an assault on the top four as the campaign progresses.

Overall, we can’t complain too much about what we have seen. In total, six wins from seven games is something that 99% of Arsenal fans would have taken at the start of the year.