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Arsenal Are One Of Two Teams Unbeaten From Europe's Top Five Leagues In 2020

Arsenal Are One Of Two Teams Unbeaten From Europe's Top Five Leagues In 2020

Mikel Arteta looks to have turned the North London side's fortunes around.

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

Arsenal are one of only two teams in Europe's top five leagues to have not lost a game in 2020.

Mikel Arteta took over 'The Gunners' before Christmas and has helped turn their fortunes around.

They have played nine games so far this year and won five of them while drawing four.

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PA

Hellas Verona are the other team on a surprisingly long unbeaten run.

The Italian outfit are currently fifth in Serie A after going nine games unbeaten with a standout victory coming against Juventus.

Verona's last defeat came on December 7 and have put themselves in contention for a dream Champions League place.

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PA

Bayern Munich also haven't lost a competitive game but did lose 5-2 in a friendly game against Nürnberg.

Arsenal's latest victory came in Thursday night's Europa League victory against Olympiacos in Greece.

Alexandre Lacazette's strike nine minutes from time ensured Arsenal grabbed a vital away goal ahead of next week's return leg.

'The Gunners' kept another clean sheet and Spanish coach Arteta is keen for his side to 'start enjoying defending'.

"We tell them they have to enjoy defending as well," he told BT Sport.

"It is a big part of the game and like tonight, if you give simple balls away, you better run back and get that ball back as quickly as possible.

"But they play with a big heart. I see a lot of big efforts that a team, instead of splitting it just joins together really quickly.

"The wide players before used to have different behaviours now they are tracking back everybody.

"I think we are doing a lot of work on that to stay as compact as possible in many situations when we don't have the ball and yes we are pleased with that because it is a big part."

Bukayo Saka provided the assist for Lacazette last night and Arteta praised the 18-year-old for his improvement.

"Absolutely, I'm really pleased (with) the way he's developed," he added per Daily Mail.

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PA

"I think he's really pleased the way he's handling this situation because there's a lot of highlights on him at the moment but he's really humble.

"He's always asking questions, meeting with my assistants and willing to improve. He's a great kid and he's very brave.

"He makes big decisions in the final third, he doesn't hide and he's got the vision and the ability to execute in spaces that are really tight which is a big gift."

Do you think Arsenal could break into the top four this season?

Sound off in the comments below.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football, Europa League, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta