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Perfect does not exist in Premier League circles, but if it did, it would look something like the football Arsenal are producing this season.
The Gunners are a side who look at home when they are away. They delicately balance youth with experience. They drive results with flair and faculty but can also win ugly - consider their 1-0 victory over Leeds back in October as testament.
Arsenal's success isn't sudden, it's methodical. It's been cultivated over time. Refined and finessed by a practitioner whose standards are relentlessly high, and whose methods are as detailed as they are precise.
Mikel Arteta's long-term project is beginning to bear fruit.
Arsenal have, perhaps belatedly, overtaken Manchester City as favourites for this season's Premier League crown, but Arteta takes no comfort in bookmakers' estimations. He leaves nothing to chance, no stone unturned.
Like any reasoned head coach, he measures progress by tangible landmarks - such as a first league double over age-old nemesis Tottenham for the first time since 2013-14.