Arsenal have enjoyed a dream start to the season, with Mikel Arteta's vibrant, young team are currently top of the pile in the Premier League.
And although the new campaign is still very much in its infancy, the Gunners already have won plenty of plaudits for rebounding from the heartache of last season with their attractive, attacking brand of football.
But perhaps the most exciting aspect of the current Arsenal team is just how much young talent they have who are still nowhere near their peak. A number of Hale End stars have been crucial in the resurgent run under Arteta, but perhaps none more so than Gabriel Martinelli, who has thrived so far this term.
The exciting Brazilian winger broke into the team last term and is now a fully established member of Arsenal's first-team squad - but he was challenged by former Gunners favourite Paul Merson to step things up this in the summer.
Writing in his column for The Daily Star back in August, Merson accused Martinelli of only impacting games "in flashes" and urged him to become more "consistent". He wrote: "He's got everything. He just has to put it all out there for longer. I would like to see him get more involved in the game in the way Bukayo Saka does. He could learn from that.
"Saka has learned to stay involved and keep attacking, all the time. Martinelli needs to look at what Saka does and follow his example. If he gets it all together like [Bukayo] Saka, he could be a really big game-changer for Arsenal. A really important part of the team."
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Regardless of whether or not Merson's verdict on Martinelli was harsh, the Sky Sports pundit has got his wish, because Martinelli has started the campaign in sizzling form - and it has now emerged that he is currently outperforming Bukayo Saka in a key metric.
In fact, only Manchester City magician Kevin de Bruyne has been more effective than Martinelli in terms of shot-creating actions. According to FBref, shot-creating actions are defined as a player contributing to one of the two offensive actions directly leading to a shot, such as a dribble or an offensive pass.
To date, De Bruyne has chalked up 42 shot-creating actions and tops the chart, but Martinelli is next with a tally of 34 - marginally ahead of Saka, who clocks in with 32.
Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka also feature in the top five spots on a list dominated by Arsenal players, but the figures indicate that it is Martinelli leading the way for Arsenal when it comes to creativity in the final third.
The 21-year-old's tally of four goal contributions (3G, 1A) are slightly behind that of Saka (1G, 4A) but Martinelli's underlying numbers are still hugely encouraging.
And they are a firm indicator that the talented winger has stepped up to the fore for Arsenal this season - and his ability to maintain those types of returns could go a long way in deciding their title hopes as they bid to compete with Manchester City for the domestic crown.
