The upward curve continued over the weekend with a narrow, hard-fought, but ultimately well-deserved victory at Turf Moor. Martin Odegaard's sumptuous free kick was enough to repel a fairly standard Burnley performance; they typically tried to kick and muscle Arsenal out of their stride from front to back.
Their was a notable performance from Aaron Ramsdale (fast becoming a cult hero amongst the fan base, despite the ludicrous backlash when he was signed), who offers much more than Leno in terms not just of his kicking off the floor, but also in terms of personality and command of his penalty box - this time in the face of the stereotypical barrage of crosses from Burnley.
In front of him, White had one or two shaky moments - including when his short back pass resulted in the award of a penalty following Ramsdale's intervention on Vydra, which saw the forward tumble to the ground (replays immediately indicated that Ramsdale had got to the ball first, so the penalty award was rescinded).
Use of the ball is White's acknowledged strength, and heading a perceived weakness, but in this game he won 4 out of 7 aerial duels against two of the Premier League's most abrasive centre-forwards, yet his passing let him down as we watched him give the ball away on no less than 12 occasions. Paradoxical.
Gabriel, however, had a quite superb game. He dealt with everything that Wood and his industrial team-mates had to offer, and took on the mantle of defensive leader that the team so badly needs. He appears transformed from the gangly, uncertain, sometimes clumsy player of last season.
Either side of the centre-halves, Tierney was his usual reliable self and Tomiyasu put in another strong performance on only his second start. The fact that the average age of this back 5 is under 23 bodes extremely well for the future.
What was most interesting about Arteta's selection was the suggestion I made last week that he was would perhaps be looking to go to a genuine 4-3-3 formation, with Partey on his own in the 'pivot' role, and two Number 8s (or 10s) in front of him. And that's precisely what he did on Saturday, taking advantage of the Ghanaian's athleticism and varied passing abilities, and utilising both Odegaard and Smith Rowe in front of him. It worked well until Partey tired late on - after all, he's barely had a pre-season - and had to be replaced by two men! Whether this tactic will continue against better opposition, and when Arteta's 'trusty lieutenant' Granit Xhaka is available again, remains to be seen.
Ahead of Partey, despite having Arteta's very best options all on the pitch at the same time, was where Arsenal were frankly poor. Odegaard himself was industrious and used the ball well, but the same cannot be said for any of Smith Rowe, Pepe, Saka or Aubameyang, all of whom had unmemorable games. Whilst the Burnley midfield press was beaten with reasonable regularity, the quality and timing of the final ball, or of the shot, were badly lacking. Pepe, and in particular ESR, finished the best opportunities weakly.
Some of these problems can be attributed to the way Burnley set up their pitch - leaving the grass longer than other sides and failing to water it; both done in order to nullify the passing ability of the less agricultural teams who visit Turf Moor - but that can't explain quite how off sync Arsenal were going forward. Hopefully, everything will click into place next week...
Now, narrow wins against two of the worst teams in the division are perhaps nothing to get too excited about, but the foundations do appear to be falling into place now, and the squad and vision ('process' if you wish) seem to be coming together. There will be more of an acid test next weekend, when That Lot rock up at The Emirates. And whilst they looked good for the first 20 minutes against Chelsea, they were ultimately very well beaten by the end - by, I must add, a quite formidable team.
I'd hope to see that good work continued on Sunday. Indeed, a three goal win - unlikely I grant you - would take Arsenal above Them in the table. And following their fast start to the season it would be hysterically funny to have overturned the nine point deficit so rapidly!
Before then, I imagine that we'll see 8 or 9 changes to the 11 for the Carabao Cup tie against AFC Wimbledon, but expect comfortable progress to the 4th round of that competition. Both Partey and Tierney left the field early enough for there to be slight concerns over them, so I'm pretty sure that they are both due a rest; and I'm sure that there will be wholesale changes elsewhere also.
Just another couple of things to mention. Firstly, Folarin Balogun is tearing things up at under-23 level; completely overshadowing Eddie Nketiah (who must surely move on in January). But of more interest is a young chap called Charlie Patino, who from the highlights I've seen looks like a cross between Wilshere and Fabregas. Now, if he can continue to make progress, wouldn't that be something?!?
Ans finally, I send my condolences to the family and friends of Jimmy Greaves, who passed away over the weekend. My father told me that he was quite the most brilliant centre-forward he had ever seen - and considering that he saw both Ian Wright and Thierry Henry in the flesh, and in their pomp, that's quite a compliment.
Despite him having played with distinction for all of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and West Ham, petty rivalry goes out of the window at times like these. Greaves was also a wonderful entertainer in front of the camera - my generation loved watching Saint & Greavesie! - and he conquered some well-documented personal demons too. RIP.
So, on to next weekend, and one of the key games of the season. As we close in on the momentous total of 5000 days since a trophy for That Lot (November 2nd is the big day), let's hope to celebrate their mediocrity a little bit more on Sunday afternoon. COYG!
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