The opening day of the season was a testing one for Arsenal, as they were vanquished at home by Manchester City and lost young defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles to a serious leg injury.

It scarcely got any better the following weekend either, as the Gunners were edged out by Chelsea in a five-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.

However, Arsenal showed glimpses of promise during a wild and inconsistent display, while their subsequent win over West Ham at the Emirates suggested that they may yet enjoy a relatively successful season under the stewardship of the former PSG boss.

Indeed, some of the bookmakers at www.onlinesportsbettingsites.uk are offering odds of around 50/1 on the Gunners winning the title this season, with some even considering this price to be a little short.

Playing with Greater Speed and Fluency in Attack

From an offensive perspective, Emery certainly seems to have reinvigorated the Gunners’ attack, as his charges created a number of goal-scoring opportunities against Chelsea and also played with real determination when putting the Hammers to the sword.

To achieve this, Emery has maintained Arsenal’s typically high defensive line, but augmented this with aggressive and more intense pressing. This was noticeably absent during the latter year of Arsene Wenger’s reign, as while the Gunners would often leave space in behind the front six rarely pressed consistently or with any urgency.

With a high and more aggressive press, Arsenal were certainly able to hustle a vulnerable Chelsea defence into errors two weeks ago, enabling their forwards to win the ball in areas from which they could cause significant damage.

Against West Ham on Saturday, the Gunners’ equaliser came as a direct result of having both full-backs pressed high up the pitch, as Hector Bellerin’s deflected cross was tapped into an unguarded net by Nacho Monreal.

The Gunners created a considerable number of chances during both games, and while they were not entirely convincing against West Ham they did attack with pace and produce a total of 10 shots on target.

With these two offensive performance in mind, there remains a great deal of optimism surrounding Arsenal’s attacking potential under Emery, and fans will be hoping to see far more of this over the coming weeks.

While Issues Still Remain, Emery can get it Right over Time

Arsenal’s promising attacking display at Stamford Bridge was aided by some shambolic Chelsea defending, of course, while the Gunners also profited from slack West Ham defending during the last quarter of the game.

Arsenal also remained defensively vulnerable during both matches, with West Ham’s opener coming after the Gunners were caught with men out of position during a swift and direct counter-attack.

This highlights the biggest challenge facing the new Arsenal boss, as he looks to introduce some much needed steel to his side’s defence and establish a central midfield that offers far greater protection.

New signings Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Mattéo Guendouzi have certainly showed glimpses of their potential in the opening three games, but for now there remains a huge imbalance between Arsenal’s attacking potential and their defensive limitations.

Emery must also solve the riddle of Mesut Ozil’s inconsistent and often bewildering form, with the former German international once again cutting a peripheral figure against the Blues. He was left out of the squad altogether against the Hammers, with rumours of a fall-out between him and Emery dominating the local headlines.

So while the arrival of Emery was supposed to be help revive the playmakers’ fortunes, it’s unclear whether he’ll adapt to the Gunners more energetic and frenetic style of play any time soon.

The same could arguably be said for Mkhitaryan, who has also flattered to deceive since arriving from Manchester United last January. While he made his name in Jurgen Klopp’s tireless and helter-skelter Borussia Dortmund side, the Armenian international has struggled to cope with the physicality of the English game and has yet to convince since arriving in the EPL in the summer of 2016.

These issues will take time to resolve, while Emery may need several transfer windows to refine and develop his squad. The challenges facing the Spanish manager are by no means insurmountable, however, and the question that remains is whether he’ll be afforded the necessary time to achieve his aims.

The Last Word – A Season of Transition Awaits for the Gunners

The term ‘season of transition’ is often overused in football, but this is undoubtedly what Arsenal will face over the course of the next nine months and potentially beyond.

Instead of aiming for major prizes, Emery needs to focus studiously on implementing his own playing philosophy at the Emirates, while also tailoring the playing squad to suit his needs. He must also strive to improve the balance between Arsenal’s attack and defence, as he creates a team that is more difficult to score against and beat.

Some of these are challenges that have existed for more than a decade, but Emery at least has a clear idea of how he’s going to proceed. Like every other manager on the EPL merry-go-round, however, he’ll have to rely heavily on support from the board and backing from the dressing room.