Arsenal: The 5 best players so far

9 games and 5 wins in all competitions so far shows how far Arsenal have come compared to the last season, which isn’t the point of discussion. But Arsenal have shown a quality different from last season’s team – the desire to match up with the big boys. Injuries have prevented Arsenal from being at their best but there are 5 super players who have stepped up their game to push Arsenal up the table.

5. Per Mertesacker

A tall but not so imposing personality, Mertesacker focuses on making the correct tackle using his mind. Injuries to Laurent Koscielny allowed him to start 6 games and he has not made bad mistakes that put his team in sticky situations. His absence was felt badly when he didn’t play against Chelsea. Arsenal have conceded 3 goals from set-pieces ever since.

4. Mikel Arteta

Quite a low position for him since he does a lot more than the position suggests. He is the pivot that holds the Arsenal midfield and enables Abou Diaby to go forward. He may not be the fastest but he compensates with his defensive discipline. Also, Arsenal have won only once ever since Arteta was signed and didn’t play. That is enough said about why Arteta is vital to Arsenal’s hopes.

3. Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson

Injuries prevent Abou Diaby from making it to 3rd place here. Both the full-backs contribute more in attack and equally in defense. Carl Jenkinson deserve a special note.

Last season, Carl Jenskinson was the man who was criticized by one and all. Everyone demanded for him to be sent out on loan. But Arsene Wenger’s faith in him has paid off as he has stepped up in the absence of Bacary Sagna. Now, at this stage, he is so much better than Glen Johnson and pretty much on par with Kyle Walker, so he should make it into the English National Team. And, oh, Kieran Gibbs has made it into the national squad. This is a credit to Gibbs, who has made himself the first-choice left-back at Arsenal.

2. Gervinho and Lukas Podolski

With 5 and 4 goals respectively, these two have provided the goals for the Gunners. Gervinho’s move from the wing to the CF position has paid dividends and he is scoring the goals needed for Arsenal. Last season, he only managed 4 goals. This time, he might crack the 15 goal mark which he achieved at Lille OSC. On the other hand, Lukas Podolski is class personified. He is a tried and tested performer and surely will crack the 15 goal barrier despite playing on the left wing. He is superb at tracking back and helping out the full-backs. Such work-rate is appreciated at Arsenal.

1. Santi Cazorla

He might not have the numbers Eden Hazard has, but he has effectively replaced Cesc Fabregas while adding his trickery to the trequartista position. He has that vision that Cesc Fabregas had which Arsenal sorely missed last season. 16 million is a bargain for a player of such quality and his departure from the then-in crisis Malaga has promoted the growth of Isco who has helped Malaga a lot.

He runs the show and got the first assist of Arsenal’s season for Lukas Podolski. He can help the likes of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud get the numbers they are expected to get, while helping Podolski and Gervinho crack the 15 goal barrier. I could add a lot more, but this is enough.

Arsenal fans should look up and say that we have the players to win the 38-game Premier League. It is all about belief that we can do it and once we do that, we are good to go. Up the Gunners!