Areas Where Arsenal Are Actually Better Than Last Season

At the November international break, there can be few arguments against Arsenal’s status as title challengers. After 12 games—almost a third of the season—the Gunners are level with leaders Manchester City on 26 points. 

The question now is whether they can sustain this until the end of the season. Arsenal have flattered to deceive in the past, only to fall away as the campaign comes to a close. Gunners fans are now looking for signs that this team is different. Have they improved sufficiently to be genuine contenders?

They appear to be a stronger side than they were in 2014/15. First of all, their signings from the busy summer of 2014 have now settled in. Arsenal did not add a single outfield player to their squad in the last summer transfer window, as Arsene Wenger banked on the benefits of stability.

However, they did add a goalkeeper. The acquisition of Petr Cech from Chelsea appears to be a marked upgrade on the pair of Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina. Wenger identified the one position where he felt it was easy to upgrade and acted accordingly.

Arsenal’s defensive record is impressive this season. They’ve let in just nine goals in 12 games—only Manchester United have conceded fewer goals in this season’s Premier League*. That has to be partly attributed to the arrival of a new goalkeeper.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Wenger has spoken glowingly to Sky Sports about Cech’s impact: 

"

He [Cech] has given first of all his experience. He gives leadership because he is a leader on the pitch, he talks, he is brilliant intellectually, his analysis capacity is very strong, he is highly focused. It's difficult to find a problem with him because he is the perfect goalkeeper.

"

The stats bear his assessment out. Last season, Szczesny managed just 1.4 saves per goal. Ospina proved to be a significant improvement on that front, registering 3.18 saves per goal. Cech has comfortably the best record, though, with four saves for every goal conceded. That makes Arsenal significantly more resilient at the back.

Arsenal’s improvement appears to have been made at both extremes of the pitch. The Gunners are also a more effective attacking unit than ever before. This season, they and front-runners City have both managed exactly 221 shots on goal.

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

That’s been helped in large part by the improvement in Mesut Ozil’s productivity. Last season, his 20 Premier League appearances saw him create 70 goalscoring opportunities, just four of which were registered as assists. This season he has already created 54 chances, with 10 being converted into assists. His creativity is producing more tangible results than ever before.

The increase in the ratio of chances being converted also suggests that there has been some progress in Arsenal’s finishing. The Gunners are becoming a more clinical outfit this season.

Arsenal are being more efficient at both ends of the field, and it has propelled them to within touching distance of the Premier League’s summit. Their challenge now is to find a way to stay there.

*all stats via Squawka

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.