Much has changed in the Premier League since Christmas Day; throughout the history of the competition, people involved with the game have used that date as a check point of sorts.
Arsenal in particular have been notably better since the festive period, with the Gunners now placed in the top half of the table as the final stretch approaches.
Their chances of finishing in the European places remain in the balance, but they stem from their showings since Christmas, with the graphic below capturing the level of Mikel Arteta's outfit.
You can view the high-quality version of the below image here.
Impressively, only Manchester City, West Ham, Leicester and Manchester United have better points-per-game averages than the Gunners' 1.8.
Over the period in question, the Emirates outfit have averaged 1.7 goals per match which is the third-best behind City and United, but their defence has arguably been even better.
Arsenal have averaged only 0.7 goals conceded per match, which is only bettered by Pep Guardiola's champions lying in wait.
It is a notable upturn in form and it bodes well for Arteta, who has been a topic of debate amongst supporters recently regarding whether he's actually improving the team or not.
Interestingly, Arsenal's better showings seem to have coincided with the use of 4-2-3-1 as opposed to 3-4-3, and the integration of a creative no.10 type.
Emile Smith-Rowe and Martin Odegaard are now both vying for the role, but since Arteta changed to 4-2-3-1, he's lost just three times from a possible 11 league contests; one of those came against City, with another coming against Wolves in which Arsenal suffered from two red cards.
It has been quite a turbulent year at the Emirates, but the Spaniard appears to coming out the other side relatively unscathed and he's quietly showcasing signs of what is to come as the business end of the campaign approaches.
