Mikel Arteta has made remarkable Arsenal change ahead of Sheffield United match | Football | Sport

Mikel Arteta has successfully transformed Arsenal into the Premier League’s most prolific scorers despite lacking a world-class striker at the top of the pitch – and it is remarkably different to the problems they had just two years ago. The Gunners have been in fine form over the last few weeks and will be hoping to continue their impressive run with a convincing victory over Sheffield United on Monday.

Arsenal lacked a cutting edge in attack on more than a few occasions earlier this season, prompting calls to sign a new striker when the bidding opens in the summer. However, things have certainly improved in recent weeks, with Arsenal scoring a total of 25 goals in their last six Premier League games.

Two years ago, the Gunners endured a dire run of form in the middle of the season which saw them fail to score in seven straight halves of football. Their current fortunes could not be any different, having found the net at least twice in their last seven halves in the Premier League.

Arsenal are the first team to achieve this feat in the history of the division, showing the extent to which they have hit their stride over the last few months. They are currently on a 21-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League, which has helped them to stay in the title race with just two points separating them from leaders Liverpool.

Arteta will be particularly pleased that his side’s goals have come from all over the pitch, with defenders, midfielders and forwards all chipping in. The Spaniard was quizzed on Arsenal’s prolific form after the 4-1 victory over Newcastle last weekend, crediting their strong collective mentality as the biggest reason behind their unstoppable run.

“The team is hitting form, we are in a good moment, the players individually are performing,” said Arteta. “It’s not any secret things are flowing at the moment. We are scoring goals in various ways and we want more. We score one and we want to go for the second and third and the fourth one and I love that mentality from the team.

“We have to do that, because we won a lot of games last year, and this year when we deserved more and we generated more, I think today it could’ve been much more as well, but we have to demand ourselves that. We train every day in the best possible way, look after ourselves and, first of all, believe that you can do it.”

Arsenal will be desperate to keep up their impressive goalscoring form over the coming weeks, with a number of important fixtures on the horizon. They will be looking to put Sheffield United to the sword on Monday before facing Brentford, Porto, Chelsea and Manchester City in quick succession.

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