By Frank Dalleres
Everybody has been waiting for Arsenal to show the soft underbelly that has been exposed in previous seasons, but so far it hasn’t happened.
On Sunday they went to a Leeds team desperate for three points and got the job done because everyone from the goalkeeper to the forwards did their bit.
Thanks also to Liverpool’s big win over Manchester City, Arsenal now sit four points clear at the top of the table after 10 games.
I have to say they have surprised me. As much as champions City remain favourites to win the title, you have to ask whether Arsenal are now in the race. Why not?
I don’t see them being knocked off the top in the four weeks between now and the Premier League pausing for the World Cup.
A trip to Chelsea aside, their fixtures – Nottingham Forest at home, Southampton and Wolves away – look very winnable. They can treat the next month like a sprint.
The World Cup break itself might just suit Arsenal, too, given that they have often stumbled on tricky away days when winter sets in.
All credit has to go to Mikel Arteta. I’m a huge admirer of his after watching how he operates in the Amazon All Or Nothing documentary about the Gunners.
I love his passion and the way he communicates with the players. He has got them believing in themselves, which is the biggest step they have made from last season.
Arsenal made some good acquisitions over the summer but, again, I think that comes back to Arteta as well.
He has been clear about the type of players he wants to sign and I don’t think Gabriel Jesus or Oleksandr Zinchenko would have joined a club that isn’t in the Champions League without knowing and liking Arteta from his time at City.
The hallmark of a good manager is that players are thriving and none more so than Martin Odegaard, who for me was a surprise choice as captain.
His pass for Bukayo Saka to score against Leeds at the weekend was perfectly on point for Saka’s first-time finish and was typical of his contribution to the team.
Odegaard epitomises how far Arsenal have come. With his touch, creativity and quality on the ball, he would walk into any team at the moment. He adds finesse and a Liam Brady-like deftness to the midfield.
It is only two years since he arrived in London with something to prove. Now he is showing the potential that saw Real Madrid sign him as a 16-year-old.
I saw a similar transformation to the one Arsenal are going through when I was at Everton, where we went from seventh in 1983-84 to champions the next year.
People were waiting for us to slip up but we knew we had a winning mentality. The challenge for Arsenal is to keep that mindset, where only a win satisfies the team.
The biggest threat to the wannabe clubs hoping to compete with City is squad depth in key positions, and Arsenal are on thinner ice than Liverpool and perhaps even Tottenham in that respect.
That might be the weakness in their armour. We will only find out when injuries to the likes of Thomas Partey or Gabriel Jesus happen.
There is a clear top five in the Premier League, I think. As well as City and Arsenal, Chelsea are rejuvenated under Graham Potter, Liverpool have their mojo back and Spurs are up there without having played very well.
All are capable of finishing in the top four but Arsenal now have the self-belief to achieve more than that.
If they end up fourth and return to the Champions League after a seven-year absence then it will still be a step forward, especially if they have a good European run.
But right now Arteta’s Arsenal are in dreamland at the top of the league and will increasingly be thinking: why not?
Trevor Steven is a former England footballer who played at two World Cups and two European Championships. @TrevorSteven63.
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