The first was Arsene Wenger after he finally broke into Arsenal's transfer kitty. Then it was the man he bought, Mesut Ozil, after his early form in the red and white ignited the fire of creative football once again in their half of North London. Later it was Mathieu Flamini, the unobtrusive returnee to the club on a free transfer who was willing to do the dirty work to fuel the Arsenal engine as it stormed up the Premier League table, and finally, according to the Daily Telegraph, Olivier Giroud is the unsung hero and the driving force of Arsenal'?s possible path to glory.
That's not to mention Aaron Ramsey, whose electric start to the season has silenced the vast number of Arsenal fans who had written the Welshman's career off, Wojciech Szczesny, who has vastly improved in quality and confidence after a shaky season last year, or even the excellent play of the supporting cast around these individuals.
In fact, the secret to the Gunners' scintillating start to the year, a start that has seen them topple Liverpool, Tottenham, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, might not fall upon the shoulders of one individual, moment, or game. Arsenal are playing as a team. A team comprised of a group of players who, in part, have played with each other for a long time, who know each other's game and who are comfortable on and off the ball in their managers system.
Combine that with the quality Ozil has brought to the creative aspect of the squad, the unexpected, but pleasant, rise of Ramsey, as he starts to finally fulfil his potential and the confidence that winning bring to a side, and suddenly Arsenal are winning as a team.
Their wins against top class opposition, especially their gritty and hard fought victory in Dortmund on Wednesday night, have come from the combined effort of the 11 men playing across the pitch, with the attackers picking up their defensive duties, the defence staying composed and supported and their midfield working together as the grunts do the dirty work, allowing the playmakers to make the magic happen.
Rather than picking out the individual player or moment that has led to the Gunner resurgence, lets look at the bigger picture. Jack Wilshere'?s goal of the month against Norwich may just be the indicator as to what is really fuelling Arsenal's early season success.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG