Make no mistake about it, Arsenal are the Premier League's team to beat right now.

They may be second in the table, separated from Manchester City in top spot by goal difference, but victories over title rivals Manchester United and European monoliths Bayer Munich in the space of three weeks, amid a four-game winning streak that also included scalps of Watford and Everton, tells all about the unrivaled form the Gunners are currently enjoying.

Intriguingly, the methods used to attain those results were uncharacteristic for Arsenal on the most part. They demolished United with three goals in the first twenty minutes yet spent the remaining seventy sitting deep and soaking up pressure, rather than naively pushing for four or five. They could have gone in all guns blazing against relegation battlers Watford but instead ground them down in the first half before exploding to life in the second.

And of course, their rear-guard, counter-attacking 2-0 win over Bayern Munich at home to keep their Champions League chances alive was almost the antithesis of the optimistic attacking mantra we've come to expect from Arsene Wenger.

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It suggests we're looking at a different Arsenal this season. A more versatile Arsenal, a more pragmatic Arsenal, a more ruthless Arsenal and a more sensible Arsenal, aware they can't expect to beat every team 5-0 even if they believe they have the attacking quality to do so. And even if they do intend to win 5-0, defensive organisation and industry are required in equal measure.

Dare I say it, it feels as if this Arsenal side are getting serious about winning the Premier League title.

Not that they haven't been serious about it before, but their recent displays have suggested a better understanding of what is required. Of course, the fact Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are now clicking as an attacking partnership makes the job considerably easier for their nine team-mates; but from Petr Cech to Theo Walcott, every Arsenal star has played their part in recent weeks.

Now facing only one team who finished in the Premier League's top six last term - local rivals Tottenham - until the end of December, the north London outfit have a fantastic chance to rack up the points and apply pressure on the other title contenders.

Yet, there is always a 'but' with Arsenal, the perpetual fear that history is doomed to repeat itself, and although the Gunners will enter the next six games as the unquestionable favourites, the run ends with a tricky visit to the Eithad four days before Christmas.

That heralds the start of the second, significantly tougher half to Arsenal's title bid, which will see them face Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Swansea City and Spurs by the 5th of March, a period when Capital One Cup, FA Cup and Champions League games begin to chaotically intertwine with Premier League fixtures.

I'm sure we all remember how, despite spending 128 days (almost exactly half the season) at the top of the table, the Gunners' title bid capitulated under eerily similar circumstances during the 2013/14 campaign.

They faced Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Swansea City, Manchester City and Everton between February and the start of April and picked up just six points against them, instigating a slump from first to fourth in the table. A double-legger against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and FA Cup ties against Everton and Liverpool further exacerbated their sudden decline in form.

Of course, no two Premier League seasons are precisely the same and as aforementioned, I'm certain we're looking at a different Arsenal this season - a more ruthless, more focused and more balanced Gunners side. But the tricky run from Christmas to March does highlight a recurring trend; the north London outfit's form tending to follow the Gregorian calendar rather than the Premier League's.

Although I'm sure the Gunners have changed for the better, I'm yet to be convinced they've changed enough to overcome what history tells us about them. This would hardly be the first dawn to soon prove false at the Emirates.

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