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Premier League great Michael Owen has admitted that Arsenal have impressed him with their maturity despite previously accusing them of being soft.
Arsenal have made a flying start to the 2022-23 season under Mikel Arteta's management. They currently sit atop the Premier League table with 18 points, having won six and lost one of their seven matches so far.
While there are 31 more games left to be played, the Gunners have certainly claimed their stake as genuine title contenders. Arteta and Co. have managed to do that despite having one of the youngest squads in the league.
Assessing Arsenal's start to the season, Owen conceded that he had been the first person to accuse them of being soft. However, the Englishman feels the north London giants are maturing well. He told Premier League Productions [via HITC]:
“Definitely, yes, I would have been the first person to accuse them of being soft over the past few years and they have been that."
"But they have got a maturity about them, despite having quite a few young players in the team."
Owen, though, pointed out how Arsenal have had a favorable run of fixtures so far. The former Liverpool striker was impressed with how they bounced back from their defeat to Manchester United with a win at Brentford last weekend. He said:
"We have looked at the fixtures they have played and it has been favorable. The first five they won, then their first real chance and the big test was against Manchester United and they stumbled."
"It was important they got back on the winning trail at a really tough place. Back to the top of the league. The confidence is growing. They are all maturing nicely."
"I have said before, and I will say it again, after a long few years of waiting, then I will start to get excited."
Arsenal have couple of tricky fixtures coming up
The Gunners went into the international break as Premier League table-toppers, with Manchester City behind them. The north London giants are now not back in action until October 1.
Arteta's side, though, are scheduled to face arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur at home when club football resumes. They will also host Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in the league on October 9.
Having had a comparatively favorable set of fixtures at the start, it remains to be seen how the table-toppers will fare against the likes of Spurs and Liverpool.
