Arsenal legend Martin Keown has poured cold water over the Gunners' hopes of winning the Premier League as they won their fifth successive game.
Mikel Arteta's men claimed a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday night to maintain their place at the top of the table. Their winning run has left them two points clear of Manchester City, though Keown does not believe they will remain there come the end of the campaign.
While he doubts their title credentials, Keown did hail Arsenal for their performance against Villa. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli netted the two goals that won the game for the Gunners at the Emirates.
But it was the performances of Kieran Tienery, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka that most stood out to the former defender. He praised those three as the unsung heroes of Arsenal's win on Wednesday.
"It’s a fantastic run Arsenal are on at the moment. I really enjoyed the character and personality they showed tonight. It could have fallen apart after Villa equalised but Arsenal are going from strength to strength," Keown told BT Sport.
"The decision making is so much better, and the quality that Arsenal have over Aston Villa. Villa don’t have that quality to get into those areas that Arsenal can, they can do it in a moment. I’ve got to mention Lokonga, no-one has really been speaking about him but he’s come in there with a few injuries about and done really well.
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"Xhaka as well in the midfield, that was one of his best games for Arsenal. Tierney was also great, no one is talking about Zinchenko tonight because of that performance. The substitutes came to the rescue, I thought Arsenal looked tired.
"Nketiah, he just seems to get better and is a real fans favourite because he is trying to run into those channels and it opened up the game again. It’s step by step with this Arsenal team. It’s so early in the season, it’s ridiculous [to call them title contenders]. It’s a new team but hopefully it’s the start of something special."
Xhaka has become one of Arteta's most important players, taking on a leadership role within the team. Meanwhile, Tierney and Lokonga could get a run in the starting line-up in the absence of the injured Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey.
Zinchenko arrived this summer, starting Arsenal's first four games at left-back, where Tierney has excelled in recent years. Partey meanwhile has been ruled out for two weeks with a thigh injury, promoting Lokonga to the line-up.
Arsenal travel to Manchester United in their next outing in the top-flight on Sunday before getting their Europa League campaign started on Thursday. City have the chance to leap-frog them in the table if they defeat Aston Villa on Saturday, though the Gunners can go back to top if they defeat the Red Devils.
