Arsenal's start to the season is nothing short of ideal after another summer of heavy investment and backing into Mikel Arteta's project. Six wins from seven leaves the side top of the league, with their only stumble this season being a defeat away at Manchester United.
Despite claims of an "easy start", the Gunners have picked up maximum points against the likes of Crystal Palace and Brentford, sides they dropped valuable points against last season. It shows a marked improvement to the team, even if there are plenty of tougher challenges on the horizon.
So impressive was their 3-0 victory against the Bees on Sunday, manager Thomas Frank backed Arsenal to challenge Manchester City for the title: "They are top of the table so you cannot argue with that, they have done brilliantly,” he said. “Looking at the quality, they must be title contenders.
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"From what I’ve seen in the seven games, I think they’ve been very good: they’ve won fair and square in six and the other game [Manchester United] could have gone either way."
However, in their potential hunt for the Premier League title, there are startling comparisons between Arteta's men and Pep Guardiola's. As per stats from Twitter user MarkrStats, the two teams hold similar defensive lines and put a similar amount of pressure on their opponents.
Arsenal's PPDA is slightly lower than Man City, meaning their opposition can manage fewer passes before being forced into a defensive action, suggesting they press harder - roughly eight to City's ten. Meanwhile, the high line is similar and the two highest in the league.
The graphic shows City hold a higher line at 52.5 metres in height, compared to the Gunners with roughly 52 metres. It suggests both look to suffocate their opponents with a high press and high line to keep help retain the ball out of possession, allowing them to sustain pressure.
This similarity suggests that, perhaps, Arsenal could challenge for the title and one huge change may have allowed for that. The inclusion of Gabriel Jesus over the summer, someone who works incredibly hard, has facilitated this intense pressure over the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season.
It remains to be seen if they can sustain such a challenge, given the struggles in depth and consistency with their quality. However, a break in mid-season makes it a unique Premier League season, so ruling out Arteta's squad at this stage would be a huge mistake.
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