The transfer Arsenal should have completed over Raheem Sterling that would make them unstoppable

Arsenal were linked with a number of forwards during the summer transfer window and brought in Raheem Sterling on deadline day

Arsenal have enjoyed an impressive start to the season, despite suffering with a number of injuries. The Gunners are third in the table after seven games, level on points with reigning champions Manchester City and just one point adrift of leaders Liverpool.

They have secured a position at the top having already played and been unbeaten against North London rivals Tottenham, Aston Villa and City away from home.

They face a defining run of fixtures between now and the November international break, as they look to banish back-to-back runners-up finishes and claim the Premier League title come May.

Heading to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta does not yet know if the likes of Kai Havertz, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli or Martin Odegaard will be available. So far this season, though, they have coped with the injury problems that have been thrown at them.

Saka has been the key, with an impressive three goals and seven assists in nine Premier League and Champions League games. He has, as ever, been the Gunners' talisman, despite his tender years.

Martinelli has come to the fore of late, after a difficult start to the campaign, with two goals and two assists in his last three matches. that is his total for the season to date.

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Raheem Sterling, signed on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, has yet to really make his mark, only playing 103 minutes of action in the Premier League and Champions League.

Saka's quality shows when you look at the stats across Europe's top five leagues combined on fbref.com. He has the third-highest shot-creating action per 90 minutes of anyone in the big five leagues, with 8.11, only behind Atalanta's Ademola Lookman and Kevin Stoger of Borussia Monchengladbach.

That translates to 1.75 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes - the second-highest of any player in Europe's top five leagues. And the stat leader may come as a surprise, and may feel like the one that got away for Arsenal.

The Gunners were linked with a number of forwards in the summer and January before that. Jadon Sancho was linked in both transfer windows, but ultimately made the move to replace Sterling at Chelsea.

And it is Sancho who tops the charts for goal-creating actions per 90 minutes in a superb start to life in west London, with 2.08. With Sancho on the left doing what he's been doing for Chelsea for Arsenal, and Saka on the right, the Gunners would have been unstoppable so far this season.

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