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Arsenal are currently looking like a very good team, and that is not an exaggeration.
The Gunners have managed to overturn their fortunes in recent weeks and couldn’t have started the year in a better form.
On Saturday, Mikel Arteta’s side thumped West Bromwich Albion 4-0 on a snowy night at The Hawthorns. The scoreline is emphatic, but the performance was even better.
Arsenal have flattered to deceive this season, which is why they are currently lying 11th on the Premier League table. However, their form in the last two weeks has been nothing short of remarkable.
Since beating Chelsea on Boxing Day, the Gunners have looked like a new team and are now playing with vigour, desire and swagger. In fact, the way they are playing doesn’t depict a side that is in the lower half of the league table.
Arsenal on a three-game winning streak
The win against West Brom is definitely one of Arsenal’s best performances in recent months, and it extended their winning run to three games. Having gone almost two months without a win, the Gunners have now recorded three victories on the bounce.
Saturday’s game saw Arteta stick with young players as Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Kieran Tierney once again showed why they are so important to the Spaniard’s plans.
Tierney opened the scoring with a world-class solo effort, dummying his marker before curling the ball on his weaker right foot into the top corner.
Meanwhile, Saka and Smith-Rowe were heavily involved in Arsenal’s second goal, as the pair combined to great effect before the former rolled the ball into an empty net after being set up by the latter.
This is the first time that the Gunners have recorded three consecutive wins this season, and they don’t look like a side that is ready to slow down anytime soon.
Arsenal's patience with Mikel Arteta is paying off
Two weeks ago, many fans were calling for Mikel Arteta’s head after a run of poor results. However, the Arsenal boss has turned the tide in the space of days.
Football has become a ruthless business, especially when it comes to the firing of managers but Arsenal did well to stick with the Spaniard during tough times.
Arteta has got the team playing some wonderful football at the moment, and the potential of this squad is just mouthwatering. One can only imagine how good they’ll be when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is fully fit and firing, and Thomas Partey also returns from injury.
Arteta said after the win over West Brom, as quoted by Goal:
“It was a convincing win. To win three on the spin over Christmas in the Premier League is not easy. In phases when the weather was better and the conditions were a little easier, I felt we played some excellent football."
“At the end we had to manage some moments and the conditions. The first two goals, the first action with Kieran was terrific, the second one with the combination play was fantastic as well.
The former Arsenal captain added:
“The clean sheet, that’s two in a row now, and that gives us a platform to win games. We look more of a threat, and more creative and our attacking play was much better today.”
Arsenal have looked solid and purposeful in recent weeks, and there is no limit to how far they can go this season. From being relegation candidates two weeks ago, the Gunners are now strong contenders to finish in the top six.
