It is easy to forget the Arsenal job is Mikel Arteta's first in senior management after being assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
The raised expectations after winning the FA Cup in August have three months later given away to discontent and grumbles about whether Arteta can get the club back to where they need to be.
While the football played in the Premier League has been turgid and tedious, the Europa League has been a safe haven for the young players to express themselves freely.
On Thursday night against Molde, Nicolas Pepe was the star man as he showed his excellent finishing attributes while Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock flourished around him and Florian Balogun came off the bench to score in just his second appearance for the club.
"I am really pleased. After the disappointment of something negative, you want to see a reaction and I could see from the first minute with his body language that he was ready to act," Arteta said when asked about Pepe's display.
"I think he had a great performance, he scored one goal and could have scored another one or two. He created some good moments in the game and worked really hard for the team, so I really like it, I am pleased with that."
Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal would rarely adjust to the characteristics of the opposition but Arteta has added flexibility to the players to suit any given situation.
Underwhelming Nketiah and Lacazette
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left in London, Arteta looked to give Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette minutes and help boost their confidence in front of goal.
At times Lacazette dropped deep to play in the No 10 position which will have raised Mesut Ozil's eyebrows.
The Frenchman laboured at times, not able to keep up with the pace of play and was careless in possession.
While Nketiah worked hard but didn't take advantage of the chances he had and now has young Balogun applying pressure.
Adaptable Arsenal
Nevertheless, the hybrid 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 formation could be something Arteta taps into more regularly going forward.
"It depends on the players that we have available and a few things that we have to make sure that we can control better than we did tonight," Arteta said.
"There were a lot of positives, we looked a threat all the time but there were some issues there to be resolved.
"This will take time, and its that we changed the team a lot, we played a lot of young players but I was really pleased with the performance and the personality that they showed on the pitch."
Aubameyang played up front against Leeds on Sunday and was largely on the fringes of the game but with Wolves this weekend being a must-win game, he needs his top scorer in his best position.
With Pepe suspended, Willian is likely to start if he is fit after a muscle problem and Joe Willock will be hoping for another opportunity to impress in midfield.
Nelson emergence
Reiss Nelson could make his first start of the season after his goal against Molde and in a team lacking in speed, the 20-year-old can freshen things up.
"He's made some big steps in the last month or so," Arteta added.
"He's shown what he can do. Again, he's another player that wants to take you on all the time, he's very vertical, he's a great player when he runs in behind and he's very unpredictable.
"I really like these types of players to play in the wide positions. Defensively, there are things that he needs to do better and he will improve in that but he's a much more mature player.
"He showed a great attitude, in my opinion, to say that he didn't want to leave on loan because he belives that he's got a chance to play for this football club. He's showing that he wants to take that direction. He's performing in the right way."
