Mikel Arteta has taken Arsenal by the scruff of the neck and thrust his team up the table with a combination of strict principles, smart recruitment and top-level coaching. The win over Manchester United highlighted all of these traits with some being predicted as many as three years ago.
Regarding recruitment, one of the most transformative figures in the Arsenal team has been Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukrainian has taken the left-inverted full-back role to the next level and enabled Arteta’s side to be far more controlled with their build-up and swift in their turnovers.
However, his partner, Gabriel Magalhaes was signed by Arsenal nearly three years ago as one of the Spaniard’s first summer purchases of 2020. The Brazilian has adapted to playing alongside Zinchenko and the pair have been coached to stifle attackers.
