Mikel Arteta makes history with six-game run that proves Arsenal are the real deal

If Arsenal finish the season with silverware, they might just look back at this month being the moment they proved they're the real deal.

Mikel Arteta has the Gunners flying - they are four points clear at the top of the Premier League, joint leaders of the Champions League group stage and now into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

The north Londoners are doing it in style and creating history along the way too. Wednesday night's cup win over Brighton marked the perfect October for Arteta's side and they've etched the club's name in the record books.

• Arsenal star opens up on major concern and suggests radical player pay cut
• William Saliba's 'Rashford' comment on Arsenal youngster explained

They have now become the first English top-flight team in history to win six games in a single month without conceding a single goal. On paper, this run was favourable with five home games at the Emirates - but it's still a remarkable achievement for a team looking to win their first league title since the Invincibles 2003-04 campaign.

This sequence of games has also been a marked improvement from last season, when they fell short in their bid to win the league for the third successive season. Their three Premier League wins this month have seen them beat West Ham 2-0, Fulham away 1-0 and Crystal Palace 1-0.

Last season they took just two points from those games, losing 1-0 to West Ham, drawing 1-1 at Fulham and battling to a 2-2 result with Palace. The other two matches this month have been in the Champions League, with wins over Olympiacos and Atletico Madrid.

To win all six matches in a month is some achievement, but to do it without conceding a goal is incredible. Last season they had the same number of matches in October and managed four wins, one draw and a defeat - scoring eight times and conceding five goals.

This season they've scored 12 without reply, further proof that the £257million summer spending spree - which helped Arteta build a squad capable of challenging for top honours - has paid off. Looking at the 2022-23 and 2023-34 seasons, when Manchester City pipped the Gunners to the title, October has usually been a positive month for them.

In 22-23, they played nine games with one draw and one defeat - scoring 18 times and conceding six. The following year, they won three of their five matches, drawing and losing once with 11 goals scored and five conceded.

Another impressive aspect of this year's heroics is that five of the 12 goals have come from set-pieces, with plenty of noise around that topic right now. Nineteen per cent of all goals in the English top-flight this season have come via corners (45/241), the highest rate ever in a campaign.

And the Gunners have certainly played their part. They have scored 11 goals via set-pieces, two more than any other side (Chelsea are second with nine).

Arsenal's set-piece coach Nicolas Jover - who was last year described as "the most annoying man in football" by Gary Neville - deserves credit for his role in getting the best out of their physical and powerful squad.

Their Premier League rivals are also aware of their threat but still can't find a way of beating them - or even get past their defence. Palace defender Maxence Lacroix, who played in last weekend's 1-0 win for the Gunners, recently shared his thoughts on their set-piece strengths.

“We were disappointed about that goal, because we knew that Arsenal are really good in set-pieces, so it's a little bit frustrating,” said Lacroix. “Before this goal, I think they didn’t have anything. We played well, we defended well, we also had some opportunities to score.

“I think Arsenal are one best teams defensively in the league – you can see that they don’t concede many goals. We knew that it would be difficult, but we showed a really good face and we had some opportunities, but now we have to score them."

Ultimately, after three heartbreaking title failures, Arteta has now got his players signing from the same hymn sheet. They're scoring goals for fun and defending for their lives.

Arteta is all about marginal games and this month is evidence of that. They're now in the record books - and Gunners' fans will be hoping it's just the start of their road to a trophy parade in north London next year.