It’s more than a decade since Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Sol Campbell and Martin Keown were the “Invincible” defensive rocks around which the Gunners’ success was built.
And it’s been too long since Arsenal had a skipper like Adams to provide the leadership on the pitch that Wenger has provided off it.
Until now, that is. Wenger has found another inspirational leader in Shkodran Mustafi, a World Cup winner who has fitted into the Arsenal rearguard like a glove and, with Laurent Koscielny, is providing the defensive stability the Gunners have wanted since, well... Tony Adams.
All the signs are that this pair promise to be just as good as the legends that went before them.
Koscielny is the leader because he is captain, but Mustafi looks like he is taking leadership as well at the back. What’s surprising is how quickly he’s integrated into the team and how quickly they have formed a pair that works well together
Arsene Wenger
Theo Walcott, enjoying a renaissance that has seen him score five goals in seven games this season, pinpoints Mustafi’s £34million signing as arguably the most significant this summer.
The German has become part of a defensive double act that looks like being crucial to Arsenal’s hopes this season.
Walcott says: “Mustafi gets people up for games. If your not doing something right, he tells you. He and Koscielny have a very good relationship and it bodes so well for us.”
Wenger says: “Koscielny is the leader because he is captain, but Mustafi looks like he is taking leadership as well at the back. What’s surprising is how quickly he’s integrated into the team and how quickly they have formed a pair that works well together.
“Mustafi is a typical German. He wants to do the job well every day and speaks his mind in the dressing room and during games.
“He has the potential to be one of the great central defenders, but let’s see how he survives in games like Sunday against Burnley, where it is a case of ‘Can I head the ball? Can I win the second ball?’ I would say I have a positive feeling.”
But it’s when he talks about Koscielny that Wenger bursts with pride. He says: “It is one of the most gratifying aspects of my job to take a player who nobody knew and give him the chance he deserves.
"He comes from a small city in the middle of France, and he did not believe he could do it for a long time.
“When you are a player who didn’t make it in division two, it takes a while to believe in your potential and become an international for France. But now he has got rid of that past.”
With their new-found strength at the back and a high-intensity approach up front, Arsenal are on a roll.
But Walcott warns: “It’s going to be a hard game (at Burnley). We need to meet that different challenge. Everyone is on a high, and we have to make sure it stays that way.”