Mikel Arteta has started to see his long-term project at Arsenal bear fruit, with his young squad adding quality to their game and playing in the style he has looked to implement. Last season the Spaniard came so close to a top four finish, but narrowly missed out to rivals Tottenham.
The summer followed with more investment into the playing squad available and the Gunners have hit the ground running, feeling no hangover blues from their missed opportunity last campaign. Six wins from their opening seven leaves them top of the Premier League heading into the international break.
That record, along with their impressive displays, have put them in the conversation for a potential title challenge despite it being so early on. Arteta has ignored those claims though, looking to focus on the games as they come: "You’re not going to hear it (title contenders) from me.
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"It’s the next game, the next training session. We go day-by-day. But it’s a very different problem from this time last year [where they lost their first three games]. I prefer this problem, that’s for sure.
"We need to maintain the cohesion of the team, the belief in the team that everybody is able to contribute. I keep the standards high and keep the demands even higher and make sure everybody is at it every single day."
There are still 31 games to go, but if Arteta does somehow achieve the unlikely in securing the Premier League, he will break a record of Jose Mourinho's while he was at Chelsea. That is being the youngest manager to lift the trophy, as he would be 41-years-old by the time the season ends in May.
This would triumph that of the "special one", who did so at 42-years-old with the Blues. While this may be an unlikely feat for the Spaniard with the Gunners, it would be foolish to rule them out.
With such a bizarre season filled with a World Cup break in the middle, there may be a chance at the top that hasn't been possible for a few years now.
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