3 reasons why Arsenal are performing so well in the Premier League

Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2-1 at the Emirates stadium in London to register their fifth consecutive win in the Premier League.

Needless to say, Mikel Arteta’s team remain on the top of the league table after that win.

The Gunners started their resurgence towards the latter part of last season after having suffered a few indifferent campaigns and are looking the real deal now. The rest of the league should be wary of them.

On that note, here are three reasons why Arsenal are soaring high.

Number of playmakers in the Arsenal team:

Arsenal have a plethora of playmakers on their roster. Each member of the attacking unit in their 4-2-3-1 is good with the ball and enjoy having it on his foot. None of  Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka look awkward with the ball inside the opposition half and, hence, opposition defenders find it difficult to contain them.

Jesus, who has already scored 3 goals and registered 3 assists, is enjoying a fresh lease of life for the Gunners. Saka is tireless and as a result, Arsenal usually make most of their moves through the right flank. Odegaard is a quality passer, good shooter and goal scorer-all rolled into one and can do no wrong at the moment.

Martinelli has also impressed of late with his enviable work-rate and ability to score wonderful goals. All in all, Arsenal’s attack looks quite lethal at the moment and is the primary reason behind their success.

Ability to play flurry of passes in final third

Arsenal have the enviable ability of playing quick passes through the forest of legs inside the final third and it has contributed to their recent success. They kept playing passes in and around the penalty box against Aston Villa and broke their resistance twice in the match.

The willingness of their attackers to get near the ball – or better still, to actually have it – was evident from the way they kept having at least four and five players consistently inside the Villa penalty box. It was quite wonderful to see Jesus finding Martinelli inside the box with the deftest of touches. Moreover, whenever any Arsenal player took a shot at the goal, there was usually another ready to pounce on the rebound.

This relentlessness was responsible for Arsenal’s comeback win against Fulham last week. Odegaard finally scored the equalizer after frequently rushing the penalty box and Gabriel scored the match-winner from a corner earned by Martinelli.

Good bench strength

Now, this is elementary for the long-term success of any team, since football is a squad game. Arteta has the luxury of being able to call upon the services of the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mohamed Elneny (though currently injured), Kieran Tierney and Eddie Nketiah from the bench, which few rivals can boast of. For instance, one can point out that Nketiah’s introduction in the second half against Fulham contributed significantly towards Arsenal’s recovery.

As a result, Arsenal are usually able to keep the pressure on their opponents throughout the match and grind out results. This is also a reason why Arteta should be able to keep most of his players relatively fresh in the long run and should also safeguard the team’s interest against any possible injuries.