Arsenal looked good on Sunday against Manchester United, and the players seem happy both off and on the pitch.

There seems to be a very goos atmosphere right now, and it’s one that Arsène Wenger is keen to harness and develop.

“Can you be successful without team spirit? If I asked you that question, straight away you would say no,” the Frenchman told Arsenal Player. “That just shows you how important it is.

“It’s difficult to put a percentage on it, but you know without it you have no chance. Afterwards, what is interesting is to know how big the team spirit is. You can have different degrees of team spirit, because without it you have no football at all – everybody would just do what he wants.”

Arsenal are two points behind Manchester City and Wenger clearly feels the Gunners can create their own advantage by encouraging a positive mood. That may be why the manager refuses to criticise his own players, never one to create conflict or discomfort within his own ranks.

That must help create a bond between the players and manager, which could give us an edge over other sides as the season goes on.

“How far can you go in cultivating and developing that team spirit? That’s our target. We know that to have a chance of being successful, we want to be more of a team than any other side in the Premier League. Therefore, I believe it’s a little bit like a flower.

“You have to take care of it and look after it every day, or else it will slowly die. But as well, you can make the flower bigger, better and prettier if you care for it. We believe that part of the responsibility of the players and the staff is to take care of team spirit.”

Flower analogies aside, it’s clear this current squad enjoy each other’s company, so we have to make the most of it. Our superstars – Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez – don’t have egos, and that appears to be by design.

After Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie the personalities in the dressing room don’t seem as dominant anymore. Maybe Wenger has prepared his squad carefully to avoid any arrogance or friction between players.

The boss has planted the seed, now we have to wait and see how the team blossoms.