Arsenal boss Unai Emery’s extra demands on the training ground paying off as Leicester are swept aside

It is common for the arrival of a new head coach to soon be accompanied by stories of a redoubled work ethic. Unai Emery’s impact at Arsenal, however, is no public relations gimmick.

Standards had slipped in the latter days of Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign, to the extent training sessions sometimes became functional rather than focused, with players occasionally late and able to perform within themselves without recourse.

Emery is understood to have targeted the problem from the outset, installing a pitchside gym to improve the intensity of their pre-season work, with internal club data suggesting the squad had collectively lost weight and gained muscle during an exhaustive summer programme.

Senior figures at the club believe that, as a result, the players are one of the fittest sides in the Premier League. Time will tell whether the benefits of this approach endure, but the initial signs are promising.

Arsenal recorded their 10th successive victory in all competitions with a 3-1 victory over Leicester at Emirates Stadium and it was the eighth game in that sequence where the Gunners were level at half-time.

They were lucky to have parity, such was Leicester’s effectiveness in the opening 35 minutes, as Claude Puel’s tactical switch to something approximating 5-2-3 caused Arsenal problems in wide areas. Only some errant refereeing from Chris Kavanagh — allied to wasteful finishing — prevented Hector Bellerin’s 31st-minute own goal being the only return for the visitors’ superiority.

However, Arsenal roused themselves, with captain Mesut Ozil the conductor of a comeback which featured some sumptuous football.

The clarity of thought and cohesion Arsenal exhibited in the final third could also, in part, be attributed to their improved conditioning as they finished the game strongly.

Ozil and Bellerin combined superbly for Arsenal’s first two goals, the German finishing the equaliser himself, then, with the sort of pass worthy of a £350,000 wage, he released Bellerin to set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gunners’ third was the coup de grace. Ozil stepped over Bellerin’s pass, leaving it for Alexandre Lacazette to pick up and return into his path.

The German then clipped the ball over Kasper Schmeichel for Aubameyang to roll in another close-range finish.

Within five minutes of coming on, the Gabon international had two goals and Leicester were beaten.

The issue with Ozil has never been that he is not capable of nights like this, but more that they are not frequent enough; that when he is not at his best, there is no obvious willingness to scrap for the cause.

Such a judgment is viewed within the club as inaccurate, based on the data they hold for each player: the 30-year-old is comfortably mid-table for sprints and distance covered in matches.

There was little mid-table about him last night — and whatever prompted Wenger to assert that the edge would be taken from Ozil’s game following his retirement from international football seems, initially, to be based on flawed logic. Germany’s loss is Arsenal’s gain.

Emery’s team remains a work in progress but they are more advanced than few thought possible at this stage. Concerns linger about defensive frailty being exploited by more ruthless teams than Leicester: an equally shabby opening spell against one of the top-four could easily put them in an unrecoverable position.

Left-back is a short-term concern, with Granit Xhaka asked to deputise for the final 29 minutes here. Stephan Lichtsteiner was unconvincing when filling in for Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, both of whom had minor hamstring problems and were declared unfit for action.

Both are doubts for Thursday’s Europa League trip to Sporting Lisbon, but Sokratis Papastathopoulos may well return, having missed last night’s game with a knock.

But the mood is, understandably, buoyant. Asked whether a title challenge is a possibility after climbing into fourth place, Emery said: “I think we need to continue with calmness and treat each match as a big possibility to continue our way.

“It’s very important for us to beat Leicester, because they’re behind us but near.

“Now we’ve created a lot of distance with the teams behind us.

“Now, in front, we are looking at teams like Liverpool, like Manchester City, like Chelsea, but it’s not important to think about the end.

“We need to think about the next match against Crystal Palace on Sunday and I also think the Europa League is very important on Thursday.”

Thinking only about the next game is, of course, typical managerial spin. The encouraging thing is, at present, there is much more to Emery than that.