The great rise of Arsenal. The reasons that put the Canaries back in the saddle

After the opening 3 league games, things were looking all over the place for Arsenal. The London club lost all of these matches and was crouching in last place with zero points. It was the worst start to a season in the club’s history. Since the loss to Manchester City, however, the Canaries have breathed a big comeback. They have notched up 6 wins from 8 games and thanks to Sunday’s triumph over Watford, they have already climbed up to 5th place. Coach Mikel Arteta’s squad is now pedalling and is ideally placed to fulfil its pre-season ambitions. What are the reasons for Arsenal’s miraculous resurgence?

Confidence in Mikel Arteta’s coaching ability

As mentioned, Arsenal started the season in a dismal way. 3 losses from 3 games, an unexpected failure against Brentford, dropping to last place with a terrible 0::9 record. And it has to be said, rightly so. However, the management issued a clear statement expressing unreserved confidence in Arteta.

Arsenal’s top brass saw something in him that the general footballing public did not. A coach who has what it takes to take Arsenal back to the top. Supporting Arteta turned out to be the right move.

Since losing in the 3rd round, the Canaries have won 6 out of 8 times, plus they are on an 8 game unbeaten streak. This excellent performance has catapulted them up to 5th place with a minimal loss to the Top 4. Arsenal are back.

The great Saka and Smith-Rowe are driving the offense

Arsenal have two great offensive gems. It’s Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe. Talented wingers who are already one of the mainstays of the team. Despite their young age, they are indispensable to Arsenal’s game and their impact is absolutely crucial.

Their stats may not be that incredible (Saka 1+2, Smith-Rowe 4+2), but they definitely push the London team’s offensive to a higher level. The key strengths of these players are speed, unpredictability, great dribbling and perfect technique.

Combined with the productive Aubameyang, it’s a lethal combination. Saka and Smith-Rowe have been involved in a total of 8 of Arsenal’s 13 goals scored. That just reflects their huge importance.

Theexcellent performance of the summer signings

Arsenal were very active on the transfer front during the summer. It brought in a total of 6 new players (Lokonga, Ramsdale, White, Tavares, Tomiyasu, Odegaard). Now it turns out that he hasn’t missed a beat.

All the players have adapted quickly and are already important pillars of the team. Ramsdale has replaced Len in goal and is putting in a great performance. When he has come on, Arsenal have never lost. Especially his performance against Leicester was excellent.

Tomiyasu, White and Tavares lifted the defence. With them in the line-up, the team’s defence is more compact, more confident, virtually error-free. They too have had a big impact on Arsenal’s improved performance. Odegaard and Lokonga are among the driving forces of the midfield, they are the key links between defence and attack. Arsenal have managed the summer transfer period very well.

Improved defensive performance

This point is quite related to what I mentioned above. The reinforcements needed to acclimatise, get used to the tough Premier League, understand Arteta’s system. Some players even arrived after the start of the competition, in short they needed time. After a few lacklustre performances, they caught on and are now one of the mainstays of a defence led by the excellent Gabriel.

The defensive lapses from the beginning of the season are gone. The defence is reliable, confident and compact. The two new central defenders are reliable both defensively and offensively.

Even stopper White has recovered quickly after a bad start. The excellent performance of the defence is confirmed by the number of goals scored in the last 8 games (Arsenal have conceded only four times, with 13 goals scored they are the 7th best defending team in the Premier League).

Aquick recovery after a poor start to the season

It was terribly important that Arsenal’s disastrous start didn’t break down and panic. Arteta was under pressure, and criticism did not escape the players themselves. It was not at all easy to handle the situation. However, Arsenal managed to take advantage of the easier lot and narrowly won duels against teams that were at the bottom of the table.

Then, in the London derby, they scored a scalp against Tottenham and that gave the whole team a huge boost. After that, he’s been on a roll and continues to be in great form. In 8 rounds, Arsenal went from 20th to 5th place, which is a fantastic comeback. Great work by Arteta and co., the Canaries deserve credit for that. And it’s up to them to maintain this performance and attack the top 6.

Source: Twitter, OptaJoe