Arsenal could notch their 17th match without defeat when they face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners’ impressive run has instilled a sense of confidence among their fans and even earned praised from outside the Emirates.

However, not everyone is wholly convinced by their start to the campaign.

There’s a popular argument among doubters that Arsenal’s form only looks good because of the opposition they’ve faced along the way.

After losing to Manchester City and Chelsea in the opening fortnight of the campaign, Emery’s side have taken 14 of their 24 points from teams currently occupying the bottom half of the Premier League table.

In a bid to dismiss any suggestion Arsenal are undeserving of the results they’ve achieved to date, Emery subscribes to old age of ‘a win is a win’.

“Every match in the Premier League, we have to play for three points,' Emery told reporters on Friday, per the Mail.

“It was the same three points against Liverpool, like another team.

“Yes, we are well. Sixteen matches, we’ve not lost, it’s good. But also we have ambition and we want more and we need more. In the three last matches, we draw. It is not enough. We need more.”

'WE NEED MORE'

Emery repeated the phrase ‘we need more’ several times throughout his media conference - but exactly does he mean?

Well, when we pressed to elaborate, the Spaniard suggested the Londoners are still some way from the level of those above them.

On whether they are putting in the same performances as those in the top four, he said: “Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We need more.

“If we want to be in the top four, we need to improve things. We are improving things. The performances at the moment are not bad.

“But Sunday is another test. A big test. They are behind us. We need to win to be closer to the top four. We need more.”

It’s clear Arsenal need to tighten up at the back - their total of 15 goals against is triple that of City and Liverpool.

What’s more, the Gunners are yet to lead a top-flight match at half-time.

When asked if Arsenal are vulnerable in the early stages of matches, Emery - who called a squad meeting on Friday to discuss their defensive fragility - replied: “We can speak about statistics for a long time.

“We are scoring a lot. It’s good? Yeah, it’s perfect, 26 is a very big statistic in front of goal. But also we are conceding 15.

“We need more. Tactically, don’t concede so many chances to the opposition, improve in scoring, find the possibility with different players. I want, for example, Alex Iwobi to do more or have more chances to score.

“We have the capacity to score with different players and this is very important for me. But in the balance we also need to be better in defensive moments.

“It is not easy. We are working and speaking to do more. We need more. We need to get better.”