Victory over Brighton would have made it eight wins on the bounce and the best start to a campaign the club have made in 123 years.
asserted
club → make → years
Which players have impressed?
asserted
players → impress → ?
The timing of the Brighton defeat means there is a temptation to refer back to it in every other sentence.
asserted
timing → mean → sentence
In the interests of time and avoiding a long stream of caveats, let there be an overarching sidenote that the majority of these players produced a performance that has no business in this section of the review.
asserted
that → avoid → review
That aside, though, several in the Arsenal squad have made strong starts to the season.
asserted
several → make → season
Riccardo Calafiori has contributed more to the Arsenal attack than most of the forwards.
asserted
Calafiori → contribute → forwards
He is so unique as a left-back and, crucially, has stayed fit so far.
asserted
He → stay → back
Which players have struggled?
asserted
players → struggle → ?
The more flat performances have otherwise come from those on the fringes of the team.
asserted
performances → come → team
It looks like his opportunities will almost exclusively come on the left wing this season and he has not yet regularly produced in that role for Arsenal.
asserted
he → look → Arsenal
Viktor Gyokeres started against Napoli and Ipswich and managed a single shot across two matches Arsenal dominated.
asserted
Arsenal → start → matches
He is sorely lacking in confidence and has looked a long way off the pace when he has been on the pitch.
asserted
he → lack → pitch
Of Arsenal's regular starters, Christos Tzolis has not really kicked on from the form he showed in the first couple of weeks of the season.
asserted
he → kick → season
Particularly away from home, the winger has become isolated and the matches have passed him by too easily.
asserted
matches → become → him
How are the summer signings faring?
asserted
signings → fare → ?
Guimaraes has added a more penetrative edge to Arsenal's build-up play.
asserted
Guimaraes → add → play
However, in matches where the Gunners are pressed high and it becomes more transitional, he can look sluggish.
asserted
he → press → matches
Ezri Konsa has proved to be very smart business.
asserted
Konsa → prove → ?
That signing looked crucial in the summer with William Saliba out, but it has become even more so with Cristhian Mosquera missing the last five matches.
asserted
Mosquera → look → matches
Tzolis, as mentioned above, has not been as consistently threatening as Arsenal would like from a first-choice winger.
asserted
Arsenal → mention → winger
What has the manager got right and wrong?
asserted
manager → get → What
One of the familiar criticisms of Arteta is that he does not make use of his squad often enough.
asserted
he → make → squad
He rotated against Napoli and then made wholesale changes in the Carabao Cup.
asserted
He → rotate → Cup
After a disrupted summer, in which many of the squad returned late from the World Cup, Arteta has done a superb job of getting them up to speed so quickly.
asserted
them → disrupt → speed
The defeat to Brighton was the one match where he could have done more.
uncertain
he → do → more
By the time he finally did act, it was 3-0 and game over.
asserted
it → act → time
Revised end-of-season finish prediction
Nothing has changed on that front.
asserted
Nothing → revise → front
One disastrous performance against an excellent Brighton side does not change the fact that Arsenal are well capable of defending their title.
asserted
Arsenal → change → title
You would expect the defensive solidity to return and Brighton are perhaps the best pressing team in the league.
asserted
Brighton → expect → league
The success, or otherwise, of the season will come down to Arsenal's attack.
asserted
success → come → attack
Whether key players stay fit and how efficient they are in the final third.
asserted
they → stay → third
The Aporia
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