We can all unanimously agree that a team that wins major honours as seen in the UCL or any other top five league always has a contingent of players who are in top form at any given stage of the campaign, and there is no difference at Arsenal this season. There’s always a minimum of four or five players that will all be at their best at the same time, whether at the early stage of a title fight or towards the business end. Take Manchester City or Real Madrid as case studies and you will find that they’ll always have a group of players that on fire which is why they have been so successful in what they do. In this early stage of the campaign, we definitely have a handful of top performers so far, but I think the following four have been in the form of their lives:
Bukayo Saka; The England international has been perhaps the best performer in an Arsenal shirt this season with the Hale Ender already hitting double figures in goal contributions this season, indeed his tally of 3 goals and 7 assists in all competitions make him the highest in that department for Arsenal so far this season. What has been most impressive this season has been his creativity, he leads the way in the Premier League for the most chances created, big chances created, key passes as well as assists. He has shouldered our creative burden at times this season which has been very welcome especially in the absence of Martin Ødegaard. We will be hoping he’ll pass fit just in time for the Bournemouth game so that he can have chance of extended his amazing run of form.
Kai Havertz; No one, absolutely no one would have thought that a year on from his arrival at the club we’ll be celebrating him as a key member of the squad talk less of top performer but here we are, witnessing the German starting to become just the striker we’ve been craving for in the side for a while now. He has been in red hot form at the Emirates specifically, netting in each of the last six games at home in all competitions with the German adding more conviction to his finishing than in previous months. His all round play has been top notch as well with the German covering the most ground for the Gunners in the PL this season in what has been a very bright start to the season.
Gabriel Magalhães: He and Saka are neck and neck for who has been the most influential player for us this season which is testament to the form that he has been on. He has not only been solid in the backline but has also carried a bigger threat going forward than ever before, though he has only 2 goals to show but has always been a thorn in the opposition’s side from set pieces with Man City’s Kyle Walker giving testament to that fact. The Brazilian international has also transferred that rich vein of form from club to country where he helped his country to back to back wins in World cup qualifying while dropping a man of the match display in the very first win.
David Raya: Another player who has transferred his club form to his country has been David Raya, after being in the form of his life inside this first two months of the campaign, he continued that with helping his country to consecutive clean sheets in the recent international break which has elevated him for the shout of the best keeper this season so far and looking at how immense he has been for Arsenal then you won’t blame anyone for thinking so. From his outstanding goal keeping to his impeccable distribution, Raya has showed exactly he was sought after by Mikel Arteta to be his number one in 2023.
Players will have fluctuating forms this season, it’s part of the game but what we should make sure that is consistently in our starting eleven are players who are in top form, and I have no doubt in my mind that we will hit that level of consistency for the remainder of this campaign!
With that said, who has been your standout player so far this season?
