Arsenal's early season form has been led by the performances of young players taking the Premier League by storm. Not only has Gabriel Martinelli surprised opponents with dazzling speed and trickery, but William Saliba has also been dominant in defence. Bukayo Saka has picked up where he left off last term.
Martin Odegaard is leading the way as a young captain. Eddie Nketiah, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, and Aaron Ramsdale are all showing quality when needed across European competition. With the youngest average age in the league, there is plenty to be excited about.
Having kept up a good start and turned it into a brilliant one - nine wins from ten matches - the questions and expectations about what Mikel Arteta's side can achieve this season are being raised. With a gap between Liverpool and Manchester United already, plus being the form team in the table, ten games in and all of a sudden not getting Champions League qualification would be a huge shock.
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Driven by the experienced additions of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, both serial league winners over the past five years, Arteta has a foundation for success, but the Gunners still lack players of the same ilk as Kevin de Bruyne, according to former defender William Gallas.
When asked where Arsenal players ranked amongst the best in the league, Gallas said: "I think Martinelli and Saka are still behind De Bruyne, for example."
Speaking to GentingCasino, he added, "To be among the best, it's not because you played a few good games and then suddenly you belong there. You need to be consistent and prove throughout the season that you're at that level, which is not easy because the Premier League is so competitive. You play almost every three days, and top teams play in Europe.
"At the end of the season, we will know how good they are, and even then, we may need another season. Sometimes players can have one great season, and everyone is talking about them, and then they can't do it for the next season. So top-class players are those who can do it almost every season."
The Belgian didn't truly make a name for himself as a world-class midfielder until joining Manchester City aged 24. Both Martinelli and Saka are 21 but also putting up numbers much better than the Belgian in his early seasons at Chelsea and Wolfsburg.
It is, as Gallas says, too early for them to be considered on De Bruyne's level, he has four league titles, a Player of the Season award and is one of the best to play in the division ever, but the example has been set for young players with his rise. His first year at City had seven goals and nine assists. Saka registered 11 goals and seven assists last season. Martinelli got six of each and already has four goals and two assists this term and is playing his best football to date.
The season will be long for the two stars, both of whom are hopeful of securing a World Cup space as well, and their consistency, once the league is back in action after Qatar, will determine how good of a season the Gunners can have.
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