3 wins from 3 seems like their usual relentless start, but I don't think they're the same team this season. KDB is a huge miss, and I think City might also regret letting Gundogan and Mahrez both leave this summer.
There's no doubt they have other quality players like Rodri and Haaland, but the other 3 were crucial to much of their success in previous seasons, and often worked in tandem to help win games. As we all know (sadly), Gundogan also rescued the title for them in 2022 with 2 late goals when they were under huge pressure.
Last season alone:
KDB: 32 PL games, 16 assists, 10 goals in all comps (49 matches)
Mahrez: 30 PL games, 10 assists, 15 goals in all comps (47 matches)
Gundogan: 31 PL games, 6 assists, 11 goals in all comps (51 matches)
So they're currently without 3 highly experienced and big game influentual players, with a combined 150 matches between them last season, including 32 assists, and 36 goals. Their contributions to Haaland's record goal fest (directly or indirectly) were massive.
Perhaps other players will step up and new signings will bed in quickly, but I can't help thinking they're a lot weaker now - certainly until Christmas. There's no guarantee Arsenal repeat last years form, so if we can find our groove and get our next signings right (in both windows), then anything could be possible.
False hope? Possibly, but it'll be interesting to see how they cope over the next 3-4 months whilst KDB is out, and whether others will step up to fill the gaps left by key players.
