Arsenal and their Spanish coach Mikel Arteta have had a great start to the English Premier League, winning eight of their first nine matches to suggest that a first title challenge for years is on the cards.
However, facing champions Manchester City will be the ultimate test of how good the London team actually are.
Al-Shabab and their young Spanish coach Vicente Moreno will know how that feels. The Riyadh club have won all six of their Roshn Saudi League games so far this season and as the streak has continued, the compliments have kept coming, but so have the comments that Monday’s Riyadh Derby against Al-Hilal will be a barometer of how far the team that last won the title in 2012 have come and, perhaps, an indicator of how far they can go.
It is not just that Al-Hilal are reigning Saudi and Asian champions, with two Champions League titles in the last three years, but they have an ingrained habit of beating Al-Shabab. The last time they lost this fixture was way back in 2014. For the White Lions, that winless streak has stretched to 18 games. It has become increasingly painful. Two of the last three league meetings have ended 5-0 and 5-1, as Al-Hilal swatted aside their neighbors with ease.
If Al-Shabab can win on Monday then, it would be a big result for many reasons. It really would make it a magnificent seven wins out of seven. It would extend their lead over Al-Hilal to eight points, and it would send a statement to the rest of the league and, perhaps, themselves that they can go all the way.
Lost a little in the build-up to the Riyadh Derby is a recognition of the fact that Al-Shabab have been perfect with 18 points, 15 goals scored and one conceded. Moreno, a promotion specialist in Spain after taking Gimnastic, Real Mallorca and Espanyol to higher divisions, has pointed out that taking 18 points out of 18 is not commonplace.
“We must not forget that winning the first six games in the league is not easy,” he said after Thursday’s 1-0 win over Al-Raed. That fans were a little critical of the performance was proof to the 47-year-old that there are ambition and pressure at the club.
“We are very happy to beat Al-Raed and continue our victories in the league, and this gives us more confidence, but there are things we have to develop as we want to keep improving,” added Moreno. “I promise the fans that we will constantly develop the team. Our goal is to prepare for the Al-Hilal match in the best way we can, and we are determined to perform as well as possible and get the win.”
It could barely have gone better so far. New goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu has only been beaten once, and that was an own goal. There were concerns that the South Korean international would take time to adapt, but that has simply not been the case with the central defensive pairing of Hassan Tambakti and Iago Santos barely putting a foot wrong.
There is so much talent in front of them with playmaker Ever Banega now back to full fitness, Polish international midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak one of the players of the season so far and Christian Guanca scoring goals, as are Carlos, Santa Mina and Aaron Boupendza.
Moreno can even afford to bring Saudi international winger Fahad Al-Muwallad back into action slowly and there are the likes of Nawaf Al-Abed, Turki Al-Ammar and Hattan Bahebri on the bench. The talent is all there. Monday will reveal whether the belief is too, and Moreno knows this.
“Any team I am facing worries me, but Al-Hilal is the team that worries me the most, as they are the champions and a strong team,” he said. "I am concerned with cultivating a culture of winning within our players.”
In short, he wants an Al-Hilal-like mentality. The champions are a winning machine that can be as relentless as a robot assassin. They were 16 points behind Al-Ittihad when Ramon Diaz took over in February, but they still ended up winning the title in June. The Argentine boss is under pressure, however, after dropping five points in the last two games. With the league taking a break for the World Cup soon, club bosses who are not happy with early-season results will have plenty of time to find replacements and those replacements will have plenty of time to spend with squads.
Al-Hilal are still missing captain Salman Al-Faraj and the talented Salem Al-Dawsari, but full-back Yasser Al-Shahrani, Colombian midfielder Gustavo Cuellar and Brazilian playmaker Matheus Pereira have all been back in training. Their return will be welcome. If Al-Hilal, who are currently in fifth with 13 points from six games, lose then their title, chances are not over, as the events of earlier this year show, but it could, however, spell the end for Diaz.
Victory for Al-Shabab would end their 18-game winless streak and send a message to the rest of the league that they will not give up top spot without a fight.
Even with three-quarters of the season remaining then, the stakes for this Riyadh Derby are high indeed.
