Arsenal are no longer flying under the radar - it’s about time their impressive winning run was taken seriously

Unai Emery did his best to knock back the question.

“Three matches is a lot of matches,” he replied, when asked whether he believes his fledgling Arsenal side can match the club’s all-time record of 14 consecutive victories, a piece of history dating back to the sepia tinted days of George Graham and Alan Smith.

“On Sunday we play against Crystal Palace at a stadium that has been historically difficult for us. We are already thinking about the three points against Crystal Palace but it is very difficult to win there. We want to continue winning but we know that we can lose at any moment.”

Emery is a circumspect man, always mindful of how the words he utters at media conferences can be restyled and refitted by the innocent faces staring back at him. The French press pack positively loathed him for it. But in this instance he cannot be blamed. His Arsenal have been playing with an admirable freedom ever since their opening weekend loss to Manchester City. Up the ante now, as his side finally emerge from under the radar, and he risks trammelling this sense of adventure.

And yet the fact of the matter remains that Arsenal are within touching distance of equalling — perhaps even bettering — a club record that has stood for 31-years. A record that was beyond even the great Arsène Wenger. No other side in any of the top five European leagues is on a longer winning run.

Only Crystal Palace, Blackpool and then Liverpool stand in their way. This is something the club should take pride in, and supporters should be excited by.

What has particularly encouraged those at the top of the club is the sheer variety of victories. There have been titillating thrashings (Fulham, Vorskla, Qarabag) and unexpectedly comfortable defensive shutouts (Everton, Watford). Rousing comebacks (West Ham, Leicester) and away wins without even leaving second gear (Cardiff, Newcastle).

Last night’s win over Sporting was something different again. A desperately unappealing, stodgy kind of match against a streetwise side doing everything they could to get under Arsenal’s skin. A team with less experience would have wilted. And yet Arsenal rose above the numerous provocations to win with what seemed to be the most minimal amount of effort.

Arsenal’s run of eleven straight wins under Emery has also featured a wide variety of different players. No fewer than 21 have played their part since a 3-1 win over West Ham on the third weekend of the season got the ball rolling, while an extraordinary 13 — some sixty-two per cent — have found the back of the net.

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No other Premier League side has as many different goal scorers, not even Manchester City, the only side to have found the back of the net more than Arsenal this season.

It is this effervescent variety in players and performance that makes Arsenal’s run so different from say, City’s record-breaking stretch last season, when Pep Guardiola’s side were so clearly a cut above any other team in the division. Or even the long periods José Mourinho’s Chelsea went undefeated in the 2014/15 campaign, where the same small squad produced the same showing week in, week out.

Nobody is yet saying that this Arsenal team is good enough to seriously contend for the Premier League title, of course. And there are some major qualifications to be acknowledged — including that two games Arsenal have lost this season are the only two games they have played against ‘top-six’ clubs.

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Then there is their defence, which remains a tangible and troubling weak spot. But even that has improved in recent weeks, with their admittedly gaffe-prone back-line having conceded just three goals in their last seven matches. Even when opposing sides have been able to run their defence ragged, Arsenal have shown that they have the firepower to outscore anybody.

And so the clear caveats to Arsenal’s eleven consecutive victories only really serve to make the run more impressive. Emery’s Arsenal are a work in progress — who just so happen to be winning football matches as they learn. No longer can it be said that they are flying under the radar. A slice of history is in their sights and at this point it will take an almighty performance to fell them.