'They're playing really good football' - De Bruyne unsurprised at Arteta's Arsenal success after witnessing coaching 'evolution' at Man City

• Arsenal sitting top of Premier League
• Arteta's team thriving this season
• De Bruyne knows all about Arteta's ambition

WHAT HAPPENED? The Spaniard took over as Arsenal boss after three years as part of the coaching staff at City. His Gunners team are off to a great start this season, sitting top of the Premier League.

WHAT THEY SAID: Asked if he is surprised to see Arsenal thrive under Arteta, De Bruyne told Sky Sports: "No, not really. Obviously I see a lot of similarities with the way we play, but that’s always been his style. When he stopped playing and he had the opportunity to come here I think it was a good learning school and obviously we had great years. I saw an evolution from the beginning of Mikel to after three years when he left. At the beginning he was adapting but then he was getting more and more into his role. We also saw he had a lot of ambition and when an opportunity came he took that.

"It’s nice to see that he got the time from Arsenal. I’m happy for him that it’s going well. They’re playing really, really, really good football. Hopefully they will just not be good enough for us."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Arteta's side are one point clear of De Bruyne's City nine matches into the season. Pep Guardiola admitted this month that his former assistant's side are currently playing better football than the reigning Premier League champions, saying: "We cannot forget one thing, ladies and gentlemen, there is one team that has been better than us. This is a reality. In reality, Arsenal have been better than us so far."

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DID YOU KNOW? This is the fourth time Arsenal have won eight of their first nine league matches of a season, having previously done so in 2007-08, 2004-05 and 1947-48.

WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL? The north London side will be hoping to keep their place at the top of the league by beating Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday.