Arsenal's most improved duo shine once again against Fulham

Jurriën Timber and Riccardo Calafiori continued their impressive starts to the season with top performances in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday evening.

The defensive duo have shown a drastic improvement throughout the opening months of the campaign and that was on display once again at Craven Cottage.

With the pair reputed by many to be among the best full backs in the Premier League this season, their positive showings against Fulham showed that they have been by far the Gunners most improved players this season.

Arsenal's most improved players shine once again against Fulham

While some have argued Gabriel Martinelli has shown the most improvement of any Arsenal player so far this season, the case has to be made for Timber and Calafiori.

After recovering from his debut season-disrupting ACL injury, Timber impressed at right back throughout last year, but was still affected by fitness issues on occasion, preventing him from reaching his best at various points of the term.

However, in this campaign he has looked a player reborn and has had a tight grip on the starting position on the right side of defence since gameweek two. He has not been plagued by the same injury problems and has consistently put in solid performances in every appearance.

The same has to be said for Calafiori. Like his Dutch counterpart, his maiden season in north London was marred by multiple injuries and inconsistent displays, eventually seeing him displaced by teenage talent Myles Lewis-Skelly, but it's been completely different for him this time round.

He has started at left back in all but two games (wins over Port Vale and Olympiacos) and has managed to keep the Hale End graduate on the bench so far and that has been thanks to a number of brilliant showings.

The full-back duo have been solid on the flanks and have battled incredibly well with opposition wingers, preventing a number of attacks in the wide areas while also helping their side keep five clean sheets in their opening eight league games, the latest of which came at Fulham.

Having enjoyed scoring starts to the season with Calafiori netting the winner in the opener at Manchester United and Timber grabbing a brace against Leeds United, the pair have not only improved massively defensively, they have also operated brilliantly as attacking full backs.

Both constantly make runs up and down the pitch and often find themselves involved in attacking situations. Timber has enjoyed 28 shot-creating actions throughout the campaign with Calafiori making 19. The duo have also made 37 progressive carries between them.

Their impressive mix of defending and attacking continued in the win over Fulham as they both looked to get involved wherever possible. Calafiori had a number of attempts at goal, including a stunning effort that was ruled out for offside, while Timber often made overlapping runs to break into the box.

The pair showed at Craven Cottage that they are showing no signs of dropping their standards anytime soon and fans will be hoping they can help Arsenal mount a serious title challenge as they look to continue extending their lead at the top of the table.

By no means were Timber or Calafiori poor last season, but their respective improvements so far this campaign have been incredibly clear and long may their impressive performances continue.