Arsene Wenger thinks Arsenal can be this season’s surprise package in the Premier League under Mikel Arteta, after a positive summer.

With six wins and one defeat in all competitions so far, Arsenal have made a strong start to the season under Mikel Arteta.

They sit fourth in the Premier League table but currently lead the big-six clubs, joining Liverpool as the only two to win three of four so far. Everton are the only side with more points right now, though Aston Villa have a game in hand.

As a result of their start and a good summer, former manager Arsene Wenger thinks they can do well this season. He argues they’ve added in the right areas and kept important players around.

“I think there is a good team spirit and they have a good chance to do well,” Wenger said. “I believe it will not be very difficult to improve on the number of points they got last season. But I’m convinced Arsenal can be in the top four, if not more.

“Why not more? They can be the surprise package for me this year: they bought well, they strengthened the defence well. And they kept the players who were already there.

“In my last year I bought [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang, they kept him. They have every ingredient and no real weakness.”

It’s true that there’s no longer such an obvious way to beat Arsenal. Their clear weakness in the past was the defending, particularly in the big games, but that seems to be improving. At least, they aren’t regularly conceding four or five anymore.

Creativity is still an issue, but the team still score enough goals to win most of their games. It’s just whether they can stay consistent now.