Arsenal made it three wins from three with a convincing 4-0 win over Norwich City in their first game at Emirates Stadium in just under four months.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's influence on the side was present once again as the 31-year-old broke Thierry Henry's record of being the fast Gunner to 50 Premier League goals with his brace, as well as laying on a lovely assist for Granit Xhaka. [Aubameyang reached 50 goals in 79 games compared to Henry's 83].
Cedric Soares then made the perfect introduction in N5, scoring four minutes into his debut. Arsenal now sit seventh in the table, six points behind Wolves, who they play next on Saturday [July 4].
football.london take a look at some of the talking points from the win.
Dani Ceballos' timely reminder
Although Arsenal were comfortable early on, it was Dani Ceballos who elevated their game past routine which, after three disappointing starts in the league, was exactly what Mikel Arteta was crying out for.
Too often against Manchester City, Brighton and Southampton would the 23-year-old spend too much time on the ball and get caught in midfield. That wasn't the case against Norwich as to the benefit of those ahead of him, his movement of the ball was much more quick and accurate. Against Southampton, his pass completion rate was 76 per cent whereas against Norwich it stood at 92 per cent.
At times, a touch to spin and another to spread the ball was enough whereas at others, his close control and precision was key to slicing through the Canaries. Occasions when he slid the ball into the channels for Hector Bellerin, swept it wide to keep attacks flowing and jinked his way through crowded areas were what fans have been waiting for since Project Restart began.
Of course, when Ceballos has shone for Arsenal, it hasn't solely been because of what he does with the ball. Just moments into the game, he displayed the defensive side to his game that Arteta loves so much, pinching the ball away from Norwich on the touchline, driving forward and moving it into space. He kept at it throughout the game, racking up a game-high four interceptions to keep Arsenal on top.
Reminding everyone just how good he can be next to Granit Xhaka as the midfielder that is more involved in play [on both sides], his contributions didn't go unnoticed.
"He has a big personality to play, take the ball in any area of the field and give the continuity that we need as a team to control the game," Arteta said on Ceballos after the match.
"As well without the ball, the running he is putting in, the tackles and interceptions, his desire to win the ball back and help the team is improved so much. He looks a really good player at the moment."
Kieran Tierney's rise continues
In his past few performances, the way in which Tierney has burst down the left wing has been what has caught the eye for most, but at the Emirates he demonstrated just why he is so trusted by Arteta.
Playing higher up than usual as a wing-back leaves much more room for the Scot to cover when defending. Conversely, that gives his opposing winger/full-back more space to attack in behind.
Despite this, Tierney did a great job of covering the behind both himself and the left-sided centre-back, Sead Kolasinac. In the first half, Emi Buendia looked to steal a march on Tierney and make clever off the ball runs into these areas but the 23-year-old matched him stride for stride. Max Aarons tried the same in the second half, only to be tracked from one side of the penalty area to the other and have the Scot clear the attempted pass into him.
Whipping six crosses into the box over the course of the game kept the excitement around Tierney building but it's his willingness and awareness to carry out the slightly more mundane tasks which sets him apart.
Pro-activity returns to the defence
After the horror show at the Etihad and the way in which the Brighton game was thrown away, the Arsenal defence have looked much more like their pre-lockdown selves since the switch to a back three.
Yes, the extra body adds more security to the backline but the main change is that the backline are defending with authority again. Rob Holding displayed this when he was brought into the side against Brighton and Southampton, but David Luiz and especially Shkodran Mustafi did so against Norwich.
Although Norwich didn't put them in too much trouble in the defensive third, whenever there was a ball to be contested, they were there. Mustafi was only on the pitch 45 minutes and ended the game with the most aerial duels one on both sides [four]. Luiz's job was much more to do with what was happening on the floor but nevertheless, he dealt with his issues well.
Sead Kolasinac improved from his outing at Sheffield United and was more low-key which was what was needed after that display at Bramall Lane.
With two clean sheets from three games and the performances Emi Martinez is churning out to add on top of the return to a more pre-lockdown approach, confidence among the defence should be high heading into Wolves away.
