From capitulating under adversity to mentality monsters - It's pretty much early but Mikel Arteta's Arsenal is just getting started

Four games into the league season and Arsenal have been flawless in the sense that they've managed to produce desired results in each of the games played so far.

For the good of all connected to the club, that might be the most important of the many reasons to get excited but surely there is more attached to what makes this team look promising this early.

Yes, Fulham did make it tough for Arsenal but as said by Mikel Arteta, that he was happier with the win more than he was when they convincingly beat Bournemouth 3-0 the previous gameweek at the Vitality Stadium.

A come from behind win has been something that always seemed to elude Arsenal. In the entirety of last season, Arsenal won only once when they've gone behind, a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wonderers at the Emirates in February.

In games you'd expect them to win like against Southampton, Brighton, Brentford and Everton, they've ended up losing after going behind. Which speaks volume of what the weekend win means to everyone attached to the club.

To rival fans, it is just fulham but for Arsenal fans, who had seen their side lost to teams like Southampton, Everton, Brentford and co, it is worth a bug deal.

It is even more exciting in the context that teams like Crystal Palace and Fulham, whom Arsenal have managed to record maximum points against have both taken points off Liverpool and both teams’ only losses so far have come against Arsenal.

Against Leicester City, albeit they were never behind but after conceding an own goal while 2-0 up, and Leicester City coming strong to restore parity, they managed to hold their ground and restore their two goal lead.

And when again, Leicester City pulled another one back, they respond to kill off any momentum that might have been gathering within their visitors. This is the kind of fight you want to see from an ambitious team.

It's been long coming even if it wasn't so obvious until some part of last season. When Arsenal kickoff off Mikel Arteta's second full season with the club with three consecutive defeats, the Spaniard’s only words to the fans is to be patient until the group is complete.

At that time, Arsenal had a good number of reliable first team players out of action following the unfortunate news released just hours before the first game of last season at Brentford.

For the trip to Brentford, only Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka were the first team players that started that match that still remained in the current Arsenal XI while Ben White was also making his debut on that night.

Martin Ødegaard and Aaron Ramsdale we're still on the books at Real Madrid and Sheffield United respectively while Takehiro Tomiyasu was still a Bologna player and only signed on deadline day.

Once everyone was available, Arsenal followed up the three consecutive losses with another run of three consecutive wins and went on a run of eight games unbeaten, winning six before losing 4-0 at Liverpool in November.

After their disappointing losses to Manchester United and Everton in December, which could be blamed on the fact that the players have burned out due to the repetition of the same XI week in and out including in midweeek due to lack of quality backups.

Their next losses would come against Manchester City and Liverpool, the former in which they really put up a real fight but lost due to lack of concentration.

Moreso, their inability to overcome adversity also had its toll but the hope that that is now a thing of the past will be something fans will nurture this days thanks to their most recent win over the Cottagers.

The lack of quality in depth hurt them in the later stages of the last season and they ended up narrowly missing out on the top four but still managed to pick up more points than all but Manchester City and Liverpool, since the start of the fourth game week.

Mikel Arteta managed to pull this off despite lacking a Goalscorer and inactivity in the winter transfer window, in the wake of the loss of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who managed four goals in 14 league games before his departure.

Alexandre Lacazette also scored four all season in the league, two of which were penalties and it was Eddie Nketiah, who was trusted in the last stages of the season that scored more with five amongst all Arsenal strikers.

For a team whose striker with most goals hit five in a league like the Premier League, what Arsenal did in the league in 2021/22 deserved more plaudit.

The recruitment in the summer was top quality. Leaders, winners, stars, technicians and players of the right age were added to upgrade on needed departments and improve squad depth.

The departure of many of the fringe players will also help improve the atmosphere and the spirits of the group since almost everyone available at the club now is contributing a part.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. Fabio Vieira, who is yet to make his first team debut arrived from Porto. Two of the best teams in their respective leagues and that is a way to go for a team looking for winning mentality to a young group.

Jesus offers more than just goals and assists to the team. He is a very good playmaker and also very good on the ball. When he drops deep to get involved in play, he is even more unplayable.

Despite all of his Premier League goals coming from inside the box, Jesus spend most of his time on the pitch out of the area playmaking and helping his team on any part of the rectangle.

His leadership qualities has seen him rise to the role of a vice captain few months after his arrival and so far he's been a revelation for Arsenal and with two goals three assists from four games, the Brazilian is surely just hitting the gears.

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s technical prowess takes him above Kieran Tierney in the pecking order and while Mikel Arteta will be happy to know he'll have a top player to call on either the former or the later is available.

Unlike Tierney who is a defender by trade, Zinchenko's qualities as a midfielder makes him more perfect for Arteta's set up. His understanding with Xhaka when Arsenal plays out from the back, needs more body in midfield, getting out from tight spaces and retaining possession in attack give Arsenal an added advantage.

Zinchenko was dropped for the weekend win over Fulham as precaution and Tierney came in, it would have been a different scenario last season when Arsenal played Nuno Tavares and Cedric Soares at Newcastle in the absence of Tierney and Tomiyasu.

Both player that came in were indirectly responsible for the two Newcastle United goals that condemned Arsenal to defeat and subsequently ending their quest for a top four finish.

The three points earned against Fulham is one of the evidence of the improved depth at Arsenal with Mohammed Elneny, who stepped up last season in Partey’s absence also coming in to replace the Ghanaian against Marco Silva’s side on Saturday.

Arsenal have completed over 500 passes in each of their last two games and well dominated in those games, more importantly winning them. The signature of Mikel Arteta is slowly but surely manifesting in the team.

Of the four wins so far, the opening weekend win away to Palace is still the pick of the bunch while their latest come from behind win is also up there.

A lacklustre Villa is next and having done the double over Steven Gerrard’s side last season, Mikel Arteta will be hopeful and extending his dominance in the fixture and making it another three points before the crucial trip to Old Trafford in the weekend.

Fabio Vieira is yet to make his bow and the club is also looking to add player[s] before the end of the transfer window on Thursday, which will really help when the Europa League commences, there's reason for Gooners world wide to get excited.

Author : Kehinde Hassan Afolabi