Arsenal’s fast start is no accident: it is a reward for planning and patience

Mikel Arteta has received the time required to shape a squad over two and a half years. Everyone wants a quick fix in football but sometimes changing a club’s strategy takes time and Arsenal could be about to reap the rewards.

We are only two games into the new Premier League season so no one should get too carried away with six points against Crystal Palace and Leicester but the signs are promising. The victories have set the platform for a great start to the campaign, especially with winnable matches against Bournemouth, Fulham and Aston Villa before the month ends. If they could get maximum points it will help build momentum and confidence, two incredibly important traits.

This summer has seen another successful window for Arsenal, adding players with experience of winning the Premier League. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko know what it is like to fight at the top of the league and can lead the team to reach higher levels. Managers always want to add winners to the dressing room, they’re resilient. Arteta signed two players he worked with previously at Manchester City; his methodologies are not identical to Pep Guardiola’s but they come from the same ilk so the two will know what is wanted from them. It was a smooth transition for Zinchenko and Jesus and both wanted to play in this type of football environment.

The technical director, Edu, has to take credit for the work he has done in the market. When recruiting Jesus, he explained how he thought the striker had lost his spark and wanted to get it back at Arsenal – Jesus agreed with him. I like that interesting way of recruiting and the two goals against Leicester indicate it is already working.

I was always told a manager should be given three transfer