By Alfie Cairns Culshaw (Chief Editor)
You never arrive at your destination in football. You need to constantly be seeking improvement, upgrading your squad in any feasible way. This is how great teams sustain their dominance, and failing to do so is how great teams stagnate and fall away.
Arsenal's start to the season has been exceptional. With the obvious caveat that we've not been faced with the most challenging of fixtures, the performances we have put in have been close to perfection, particularly in the Pep Guardiola suffocation of opposition school of thought.
Against both Leicester and Bournemouth, we controlled the football match, suppressing their threat with possession and territory, while being fluid and expressive in our patterns of play in the final third. We're oozing with charisma and confidence, and find ourselves in the unfamiliar (in recent times) position of top of the league.
Is the football sustainable? Undoubtedly, but inconsistency is inevitable. The fixtures will get more difficult, the schedule will become more congested, injuries will hit and the other good teams will get better.
As the first paragraph of this article alluded to, you can't afford to rest on your laurels. It's all rosey at this point in time, and no can doubt that we have a squad more than capable of attaining Champions League football, but we shouldn't look at that and be satisfied with it. A project should always strive to improve, and ahead of schedule.
Thankfully, it appears the club's hierarchy recognise this. They had a clear plan coming into this summer, and according to all the reports, it included conducting more business than we have conducted thus far. The good start has not changed these plans. If anything, this early season form should ignite an excited flame in Edu and Mikel Arteta. We have an opportunity to do something special this season.
The teams around us are faltering. Liverpool's long list of injury concerns and a suspension means their tricky start could continue and we need to take full advantage while our fixtures are very winnable. Jurgen Klopp's side are going through a transition, as the bulk of their successful squad over the last few years begin to suffer the inevitable effect of the age curve.
Chelsea could implode. Their squad is still largely brilliant, but it looks as though using Kai Havertz as a false nine may not be as effective now as it has been and if Thomas Tuchel's solution is to sign 33-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then that gives me more reason to believe they could struggle. If N'Golo Kante can't stay fit, then their midfield will continue to look dysfunctional with Jorginho's legs looking a year heavier and Conor Gallagher not suited to this Chelsea side.
Despite Manchester United's win over Liverpool, they're still miles off. Ten Hag has inherited a squad that can't play in the way that he wants to and is still brimming with toxicity. They're at the start of their long-term rebuild, just like Arteta was when he walked through those London Colney doors in 2019.
Unfortunately, Tottenham appear to be on the up with an elite manager and a couple of elite forwards. The margins at which their games are decided and their submissive playing style probably inhibits them from making any sort of sustained push for the title, but they should be a shoe in for a place in the top four. There is hope that in the mid to long-term, however, that Antonio Conte will depart North London and leave the side in a mess, having assembled a win now squad.
Manchester City will likely remain dominant at the pinnacle of the league. It may take a little time to adapt to playing with a striker once again, but even with this adaptation, Erling Haaland is incredible and will keep scoring- as he has done in the opening three games. Perhaps they'll focus on winning the Champions League and take their eye off the ball domestically, allowing us to sweep in and win the title. We can only dream.
It's clear that we have a really, really good opportunity to make leaps and bounds up the table this season. But in order to really push the limits of our potential this term, we must strengthen in the final nine days of the window. Our squad is sufficient, but it is lacking depth in certain areas.
It's been well coveted that we've been chasing a 'mystery winger' all summer. It now appears that player could well be Pedro Neto, and that would be a great addition. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have started the season well, but as I said, you never arrive. If we want to compete on all four fronts, we need at least six senior forwards. At the moment, we have the aforementioned two, as well as Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe. One final quality addition who can cover for and compete with Saka and Martinelli is the final piece in the jigsaw to really complete this squad at it's current level.
It's then about surpassing that level. What is the one position in the starting eleven where we could feasibly bring someone in in the remainder of the window, who could seriously compete with who we have in that position, with a view to them becoming the first choice in that area? For me, it's the left eight position. This isn't to discredit Granit Xhaka, who has started the season superbly and is a good option in this position. But this is an area we can freshen up, with a younger player who has the attributes to more naturally fit into this position and thrive. We have a good option in every position now, but we want a very good option in every position now, and the left eight strikes me as the one area where there isn't an absolutely ideal candidate within our current squad.
Again, it's not a necessary signing with our base aspirations to qualify for the Champions League. However, if we want to take that next leap and take advantage of the teams around us potentially faltering, then it's a step which we should take. If that means letting promising Sambi Lokonga go out on loan and adding Youri Tielemans to our ranks, then so be it. We should be looking to make a statement to the rest of the league. We're at the top and we're not going anywhere.
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