That is what the statistics suggest 11 games into the 2018/19 Premier League season.
Arsenal sit fifth in the table with 23 points - four points better off than they were last term.
There is a positive atmosphere at the Emirates after picking up all of those 23 points from the last possible 27.
It is only the early season losses to Manchester City and Chelsea which have halted Unai Emery’s side in their claim to be title challengers.
On Saturday evening, the Gunners showed they are capable of sparring with the league’s elite when they drew 1-1 with Liverpool, who are four points better off than them in third.
There has been one common theme throughout Arsenal games which could bite them in the back if Emery does not find a way to rectify it, however.
If the league table was based on half-time scorelines, Arsenal would be languishing in 15th with nine points.
The Gunners have not led in any match at half-time this season, scoring only 24 per cent (six) of their 25 goals in the first 45 minutes.
Presumably, Emery’s half-time team talks are doing the trick, though, as Arsenal are only second to Manchester City in second-half results.
Based on those scorelines, Arsenal would have 25 points, with surprise packages Leicester and Wolves also turning on the gas when the clock ticks down.
Arsenal tend to do their scoring at the beginning and end of the second half.
The Gunners have scored seven goals between minutes 46-60, as much as they have from 76-90
Not a team to shoot out of the blocks, Arsenal have only scored once in the first 15 minutes this season, when Shkodran Mustafi netted against Cardiff in their 3-2 win.
The reason for Arsenal’s slow starts may be down to the specific, patient build-up which Emery demands from his players.
From the first game of the season against City, there was a clear philosophy to pass along the grass from back to front, which requires understanding and chemistry from the players to execute successfully.
Thus, it may take some time for the team to kickstart their performances, such is the complexity of the tactics Emery lays out.
After Arsenal defeated Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in their last Europa League fixture thanks to a 77th-minute goal from Danny Welbeck, Emery admitted: "We cannot impose our ideas in the first 45 minutes.
“But in the second half we have the chance and the opportunity to change the result.
“I think we did that in the 45 minutes of the second half. But we need to continue finding the solution for us to be better in the first halves.
Tags
Football Rumors