This time last year, you probably would have been carted away by men in white coats for suggesting that Arsenal would be in a title race. Having just missed out on Champions League qualification for the seventh season in a row, few thought that the Gunners would even be capable of getting back in the Premier League's top four, let alone being top of the of competition as a whole.
Included in those doubters was the club's sporting director, Edu, who admits that he was pleasantly surprised by a start to the season that saw Arsenal go into the World Cup break with a five-point lead at the top of the table. "We started the season wanting to do our best," the Brazilian told ESPN Brasil. "We had a great transfer window at the beginning of the season, we signed players who met our needs. And leading the Premier League was a great surprise. But because of our performance and the way we were playing, it stopped being such a surprise. Instead, it became a reality to us and to me personally.
"Based on how we were performing and playing, the results we were achieving, then it was expected that we would be where we were. We thought, 'let's continue doing what we’re doing and see if we can achieve the best possible result'. We had a great start to the season, we put on great performances, like I said. That made us feel like we should continue doing what we were doing."
