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Alan Shearer column: 'This is a

different Arsenal - but they are
not title contenders yet'
18 September 2022 Arsenal

It's not time to talk about them as title

contenders yet, but people now know that this
is a different Arsenal to the team we saw just
13 months ago.

The Gunners' 3-0 win at Brentford on Sunday

epitomised their progress under Mikel Arteta,
because we all remember what happened in this
fixture on the opening weekend of last season -
when the Bees didn't just beat them, they
bullied them.

Everything was different about Arsenal this time

- in attack and defence, plus the way they
controlled the game, and with their attitude and
intensity. They ran out comfortable winners.

Part of that was down to how bad Brentford

were, but it was Arsenal's performance that
made the Bees play so poorly.

I was expecting Brentford to come out flying,

knowing what worked last time, and trying to
hurt Arsenal. They tried to play that way again,
but it didn't work because they faced a very
different Arsenal team.

Then? With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and

Alexandre Lacazette absent with Covid, Folarin
Balogun led the line on his first Premier League
start for Arsenal when they lost 2-0 to Brentford
in the Bees' first game back in the top flight last
season. Balogun is now on loan at French side
Reims

This Gunners side is not only bigger and

stronger, it is also more committed. They were
better in every department and dominated right
from the start.

When the Bees did attack in the same way they

had at Arsenal before, with long throws or
crosses into the box, they got absolutely no joy
at all.

Their two strikers, Ivan Toney and Bryan

Mbeumo, hardly got a kick because Gabriel and
William Saliba dominated them so much, and it
was the same all over the pitch.

Yes, Brentford gave Arsenal too much time and

space for their second and third goals, but those
were far from the only occasions that they could
not get near to them.

Now? Arsenal have won six of their first seven

league games this season. As well as Balogun,
four other players who started their last visit to
Brentford have leW either permanently or on loan
- Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari and
Nicolas Pepe. Aubameyang and Lacazette have
also departed

Arteta has transformed the

mood of the club
Only four of the Arsenal team who started that
defeat against Brentford began Sunday's game
too - Ben White, Kieran Tierney, Granit Xhaka
and Gabriel Martinelli.

In just over a year, Arteta has not just built a

different team, he has transformed the mood of
the whole club.

He deserves great credit for that, because he

got a lot of criticism aWer the way they started
last season, with three straight defeats.

This time, they have won six out of their first

seven league games and go into the
international break at the top of the table. They
deserve it too.

The Gunners were ninth aWer seven games last

season. They have only dropped points once in
2021-22, in their defeat at Manchester United on
4 September

It's been a strange start to this campaign by

some of the big clubs, with Liverpool being
nowhere near the levels we know they can be.

Chelsea have been the same, and they have had

more upheaval aWer their change of manager.

Manchester United made a really poor start too

but they have recovered well, while Tottenham
are still unbeaten and are right up there along
with Manchester City, who are still the team to
beat.

I still think Arsenal's main target is a return to

the top four for the first time since 2016, and
they have not done too much wrong so far.

Their next two league games at the start of

October, at home to Spurs and Liverpool, will
tell us more about whether they can sustain this
strong start but, right now, their fans will be
enjoying what they are seeing.

Arsenal sweep Brentford aside and return to

top

Nwaneri, 15, becomes youngest Premier

League player

Jesus shines while Toney

struggles
Toney has had an exciting week aWer getting an
England call-up with the World Cup only a
couple of months away, but this was a game to
forget for the Brentford striker.

We know Toney usually relishes a battle with

defenders and thrives on balls into the box, but
here he lost most of his aerial battles and it was
one of those days where he has to hold his
hands up and say the opposition centre-halves
were better than he was.

I am sure he will recover from this pretty quickly

though, especially because he is going away
with England for the next 10 days or so. He
should get on at some stage against either Italy
or Germany too, and it is a big chance for him to
impress.

Jesus headed home Arsenal's second goal from a

Xhaka cross

Only one striker stood out for me at Gtech

Community Stadium on Sunday though -
Arsenal's number nine.

Gabriel Jesus has been brilliant since joining

from Manchester City in the summer, and with
four goals and three assists so far only Erling
Haaland (with 11) has been involved in more
Premier League goals than him this season.

We've seen Arteta improve the likes of Xhaka,

who showed great desire and determination
against Brentford, but Jesus is Arsenal's real
game-changer for me.

Mikel Arteta 'really pleased' with Arsenal

performance

His move was seen as his opportunity to be the

main man aWer oWen being on the bench at City
and he has certainly taken it so far.

Jesus is already a huge part of what Arsenal are

about now - it's not just his goals and creativity
that make him so important to them, it's his
relentless energy and willingness to run in
behind defences too.

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris

Bevan.

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