Arsenal's 'acid test' to come; Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez bring Man City extra

Five wins. Arsenal is flying high at the top of the Premier League and the atmosphere around the club is the best it has been in a long, long time. There have been criticisms of over celebrating wins and many stating that the opposition the Gunners have beaten hasn't been up to much, but after beating Aston Villa 2-1, this is their best start since the 2004/05 season, and that's got to be worth celebrating for Arsenal and their fans. Of course, the fixtures have been kind to Arsenal so far this. Of course, there is still a long, long way to go this season, and of course, there will be ups and downs and bigger tests to come for Arteta's men. That starts on Super Sunday when they face Erik ten Hag's United but win and then the excitement can really start to build for Arteta, his players and the Arsenal supporters. 'I'm not sure I've seen that many corners scored in my life,' said Steven Gerrard after watching Douglas Luiz score his second goal directly from a corner in a little over a week. The Aston Villa boss admitted his frustration with his side's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday was preventing him from 'waxing lyrical' about the Brazilian's brilliant effort but there will be plenty of superlatives coming Douglas Luiz's way. It became apparent his Carabao Cup goal from the arc at Bolton was no fluke when Villa's blocking routine from the training ground was revealed. And a similar combination of precision from Douglas Luiz and positioning from his team-mates - including Boubacar Kamara shutting out Aaron Ramsdale - saw the feat remarkably replicated against Arsenal. Later in the half, an inspired Leon Bailey wasn't far off scoring from a corner on the other side. Suddenly Villa's corners are looking as dangerous as free-kicks. In an era of set-piece coaches and clubs looking for any gain they can find, Douglas Luiz may just have opened up a whole new avenue of attack.