Rating Arsenal's season so far: From Xhaka's redemption to Jesus' instant impact

Given the way Arsenal have played so far this season, it’s incredibly difficult to pick just one player.

Gabriel Jesus has been a revelation, even though his goals have dried up, while Ben White has barely put a foot wrong at right-back and Gabriel Martinelli has been electric.

Thomas Partey has been sensational during the past two months and William Saliba continues to produce monstrous performances week after week.

But Granit Xhaka has been truly outstanding and gets the nod for this one.

Xhaka’s redemption story at Arsenal has been the theme of the season and his consistency levels have been unwavering.

He has been transformed under Arteta and is clearly loving the more advanced midfield role he is now operating in.

Three goals and three assists in 14 starts is a fine return and he deserves every bit of praise that has come his way so far this season.

The win at Chelsea was superb in many ways.

It may have only been 1-0, but it was a performance of near total domination from Arteta’s men.

They went to the home of one of the big six and controlled the game from start to finish, playing with personality and style.

There have been plenty of other fine displays, including the North London derby success against Spurs and the home win over Liverpool.

But the victory at Stamford Bridge, and the manner of it, showed exactly what this new Arsenal team is about.

There are plenty to choose from here.

William Saliba’s superb strike at Bournemouth was a serious contender, as was Thomas Partey’s spectacular effort against Tottenham.

There have also been plenty of excellent team goals, but Partey’s curler against Nottingham Forest just edges this one.

The replay of the goal from behind Partey really demonstrated how good a strike it was.

He whipped it around two defenders and bent it perfectly into the top corner from just outside the box. It was a wonderful finish.

His goals may have dried up recently, but Gabriel Jesus has still been hugely influential in Arsenal’s success.

They simply wouldn’t be where they are in the Premier League without the summer addition from Manchester City.

Jesus’ role in the win at Chelsea was a prime example of just how vital he is to the team, even if he is not scoring goals.

He should have scored at Stamford Bridge when he sent a header wide in the first half following a sensational Arsenal move.

But he didn’t let his head drop and his relentless work rate and determination to play for his team-mates drove his side on to get the win.

It was his desire that won the ball back off Thiago Silva that led to the corner which Arsenal scored their winning goal from in the second half.

Jesus does need to get back amongst the goals after the World Cup break; that is clear. 

But his recent barren run shouldn’t take away from just how impressive he has been so far during his debut season in North London.

This is a hard one, given Arsenal have only dropped points in two league games.

The defeat at Old Trafford is still frustrating to think about because Arsenal played well, but were undone by a few poor errors of judgement that left them open to the counter-attack.

The draw at Southampton was the bigger disappointment, however, because Arsenal really should have not dropped any points at St Mary’s.

They got themselves in front and then wasted several opportunities to double their advantage.

And then they lost their way after half-time and let Southampton back into the game.

It was definitely a case of two points dropped for Arteta’s side. But given the near faultless way they have started the season, it’s very difficult to really criticise them for that.

How long have you got?

It’s been a season full of positives so far for Arsenal, from the performances of certain players, to the results on the pitch and the atmosphere in the stands.

So, the biggest performance just has to be the season so far as a whole. Everything has just come together to help produce a remarkable few months for the Gunners.

This is the best start to a league season in the club’s history. That’s a truly remarkable achievement.

I’m going for Martin Odegaard on this one.

And it’s not due to the fact that he has been playing well, because that was obviously expected of the captain this season.

It’s actually down to the fact that at this moment he is Arsenal’s top goalscorer.

At the start of the season no-one would have predicted that Odegaard would be ahead of the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in the scoring charts.

The one big criticism of Odegaard going into the campaign was that he didn’t score enough goals. So, the fact he has now got six in 13 starts in the Premier League is a welcome surprise.

It still feels like we are waiting for Bukayo Saka to really hit top form this season.

That perhaps feels a bit harsh, given the winger has four goals and six assists from 14 Premier League starts this season.

But I think the majority of Arsenal fans will still feel that they have not seen the very best of Saka over the opening months of the campaign.

He has not been playing poorly, but it just feels there is a bit more to come from the 21-year-old.

The strength of the squad is still a concern.

We’ve seen when Arteta has rung the changes for Europa League games that Arsenal have struggled at times and they were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton when the manager named a second-string starting XI.

If Arsenal are going to continue this sort of pace in the Premier League, then they are going to need their squad players to really step things up during the second half of the season when the fixtures really start to come thick and fast.

And you feel that the club has to also try and strengthen when the January transfer window opens to give Arteta more of a chance to really take advantage of this incredible start that his team have enjoyed.

What can you really say?

The job Arteta has done so far this season has been incredible.

He and his coaching staff have put together a plan and it has been working perfectly, with the players 100 per cent behind their manager.

The football Arsenal are playing has been a joy to watch and some of the difficult decisions Arteta has made in the past year or so have also proved to be justified.

There is still a long way to go and Arteta will ultimately be judged on how the season finishes, but so far it’s tough to really single out any flaws.