Robbie Savage has lavished Arsenal with praise for their start to the season but believes that Unai Emery is missing one crucial piece to be title contenders.
The Gunners have now rattled off 11 consecutive wins across all competitions, with seven of those coming in the Premier League as they’ve moved back into the top four.
There’s certainly promising signs under Emery after the decline under Arsene Wenger in recent years, but there is of course still a long way to go.
While the minimum aim this season is to secure Champions League qualification, the Spanish tactician will hope that his side can go one step further as they sit just two points off the lead.
However, Savage believes that they are still missing one fundamental component which could see them fall short of that higher target.
“You can’t argue with 11 straight wins, including seven in a row in the Premier League,” he wrote in his Mirror column. “Emery is getting results because he preaches taking risks, especially in the final third. Players are flourishing under his tutelage And most importantly, the fans are buying into his methods.
“Although they still look a top-class centre-half short of challenging for the title, Emery’s Arsenal already look capable of a top-four finish.”
It’s a fair argument, as Arsenal have conceded 11 goals in their nine league games so far this season, the most of the top five and significantly more than joint leaders Man City and Liverpool given that they’ve conceded just six between them.
With that in mind, it could be their downfall unless they are capable of tightening things up at the back, with summer signings Bernd Leno, Sokratis and Lucas Torreira brought in to do exactly that. They must add balance to the side to complement such a deadly attack which has given Arsenal the second-best attacking record in the league.