Danny Murphy insists that Arsenal’s Premier League title challengers should be very worried that the reigning champions are already six points clear at the top despite not yet hitting their stride through the first quarter of the season.

The Gunners claimed their latest narrow win on Saturday as they saw off a stubborn Hull City 1-0 at Emirates Stadium courtesy of skipper Martin Odegaard’s late strike.

That result, coupled with Manchester City suffering their third successive Premier League defeat at Nottingham Forest, has given Arsenal a healthy advantage over their nearest challengers – although Brighton can cut that lead to five points if they beat Brentford on Sunday.

And Murphy thinks it’s a worrying sign for Arsenal’s rivals that they already have an impressive points when they are far from hitting their best form.

He told BBC’s Match of the Day: “These numbers, 27 points after 10 games, that club normally wins the title.

“I think what’s worrying for everyone else is they’ve got this amount of wins, this amount of points, and they haven’t really played that well.

“Maybe in the Chelsea game they were outstanding but they’ve just got over the line other than that.”

Meanwhile, Murphy said he expects Mikel Arteta’s men to grow and improve as the season goes on.

“There’s more to come from this team, make no qualms about that,” the former Liverpool and England star added.

“I think they’re in a wonderful position and a really great place.”

Arsenal squad strength key

Meanwhile, former England Lioness Steph Houghton, sat alongside Murphy in the studio, made it clear she was similarly impressed when it came to Arsenal’s start to the season and their squad depth in particular.

“It’s obvious how much quality Arsenal already had in their squad and with Arteta being there for a number of years and they’ve added two or three more players this season,” Houghton explained.

“When you have an environment that is really stable and with Arteta, you know what jobs you need to do as a player.

“So I feel as though at this moment in time, with that squad depth and the fact you can bring on the likes of Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino in the second half, it does become an advantage when you’re already top of the league.”

The Gunners will look to strengthen their grip on their title defence when they return to action after the November international break, with a clash with Newcastle on the horizon.

That will be followed by a Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund before a potentially early season-defining clash with City in north London on November 29.