If one was to judge a season based on the first few games, he would think that Arsenal will be relegated. In their first three games, Arsenal had three defeats, conceded nine goals, and scored zero. Fast forward from late August until late December, and Arsenal is fourth. Their start was absolutely abysmal and included a defeat to newly-promoted Brentford, but since then, the London club has been doing great. Overall, in their next 14 games, they have nine wins, three losses, and two draws. Manager Mikel Arteta has had the whole of Premier League ridiculing him, but it does not seem so bad right now. They have fully turned it around and here are two reasons why.

Lack of European football 

Arsenal last played a season without any kind of European football in 1996. It is very hard to even grasp Europe without this team, but due to their poor season last year, they only have the Premier League to worry about, along with domestic cups, of course. Due to this, even with their poor start, Arsenal was destined to have a turnaround season.

When compared with other teams in contention for the top six, the Gunners are the only team that does not have midweek football most of the time. Obviously, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea all have had Champions League every two weeks during the first half of the season. Alongside these teams, West Ham United had the Europa League, just like Leicester City, while Tottenham had Conference League. Even with the lack of real quality in these two competitions, it is still an additional game midweek that Arsenal does not have to play.

As a result of that, they could take their time and build their season without worrying about other competitions. That means that Arteta could rotate without having the need to due to fitness reasons, giving different line-ups a try in the Premier League. That instills a lot of confidence into players, which see their opportunities to play coming out of Arteta's trust, rather than fitness. If the whole roster is confident, or at least those players that should form the core of the squad, it will be visible on the pitch.

Also, all of the teams mentioned above will continue to play in Europe in February. This gives Arsenal a chance to go even further in the Premier League, as fatigue will start setting in. All three of the top teams aim for high finishes in the Champions League, so the Gunners could, realistically, sneak into the top three, which would be impressive. For that to happen, they would need to play better against the top teams that took all points in their meetings, but the second part of the season should be different. Arsenal has a lot to look forward to coming up in the next couple of months.

Trusting the youngsters 

The majority of the load this year was carried by the young forces in the Arsenal squad. Without much attention from the football world, they've assembled one of the most formidable young cores in the world. With Arteta at the helm, the club has decided against splashing big for huge names which might be a bit washed up, going rather for building the future. Of course, the lack of European football is one draw less for these kinds of players, but it has had the positive impact of pushing some great young blood to the forefront.

The leaders of this movement are Emile Smith Rowe and Buyako Saka. Both are products of the Arsenal school, and it is clear that they will be the building blocks of the future. They have assisted each other a total of six times this season in the league. It might not look that impressive, but if they do it just three more times, they will equal the record of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are the only duo of players, 21 or younger, that have assisted each other more than the Saka-Rowe duo, according to the Mirror.

Alongside the midfield duo, there is also Gabriel Martinelli. Martinelli has missed a chunk of the season but has played great when he was available. He scored two goals versus Leeds in a 4-1 riot this weekend. The Brazilian provided hope to Arsenal fans in a poor last season and has clearly continued to play on a solid level. A few more players can be added to the mix, as the likes of Odegaard, Tomiyasu, Tierney, and Ramsdale also deserve mentions. All of them are under the age of 25 and look to be the foundations of a new, great Arsenal.

In essence, the Arteta revolution really saved the Gunners, despite a poor start and a lot of criticism. The Spanish manager comes from the Barcelona school, and he just needed time to get his affairs in order. Once he achieved stability, Arteta was able to instill some of his philosophy into the squad, making them play some really beautiful football. Additionally, he was able to promote many youngsters and give them a lot of time on the field, something he definitely needs recognition for. It does look like a great future for Arsenal fans worldwide.