Arsenal are top of the Premier League after nine games played and Mikel Arteta's side have shown no sign of letting up. It's been an incredible start to the season which could get even better if the Gunners beat Leeds United on Sunday.
On top of Premier League success, Arsenal sit top of their Europa League group and know a win against PSV next week will ensure qualification to the knockout stages. It has been a near faultless start to the campaign for Arteta and his team.
Talk of a Premier League title challenge has increased, although it is not something Arteta is thinking about at this stage of the season. Speaking ahead of the North London Derby victory over Tottenham earlier this month, the Spaniard said: "The mentality doesn’t change, we have to go game by game.
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"We need to look to get better and improve in many areas we need to get better at and to be humble, but at the same time ambitious. That’s our way forward to achieve what we want."
Despite Arteta's comments, former defender Mikael Silvestre believes the Gunners can be considered title contenders. Speaking to bettingexpert, the 45-year-old said: "Right now they are superior to those teams in many aspects.
"I didn’t expect Spurs to be – I don’t want to use negative – but they lacked entrepreneurship in the game. They were playing on the safe side during the derby. But that wasn’t the case of Liverpool, and it was a great game back and forth.
"The table doesn’t lie. Nine games in, they are cruising, picking up a lot of points. They play away from home like it doesn’t matter to them, which is a big change compared to last few seasons. So it’s a big improvement."
The former Manchester United man added that Arteta currently has five "dangerous" players in his squad. Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka were all singled out for praise.
Silvestre said: "The players are fighting for him because they believe in what he is trying to do. It’s not perfect and it might be difficult at some point, given the lack of depth in the squad.
"They will need some luck to go through the season without major issues and losing players through injury. If that’s the case, they could be in the title race for a long, long time. Until the end. And that is due the incredible striking force with Jesus, Martinelli, Saka, Odegaard, plus the midfield going forward sometimes, Xhaka.
"These guys are extremely dangerous and they play well together. They enjoy their football for Arteta. He put the team together with Edu who must be satisfied. It’s only at the end of the season that you get the proper reward if you are there."
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