Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has come into form at the perfect time for Arsenal. With the European fixtures against Benfica coming up and games with Manchester City and Leicester City sandwiched in between.
The Gabon striker has scored more than 200 goals across Europe's top five leagues and has five goals in his last two Premier League starts.
Aubameyang's hattrick against Leeds was his first for Arsenal in the league which many may find surprising after he led the goalscoring charts last season.
He hadn't started for the Gunners since the 3-0 victory over Newcastle last month after being absent to deal with a personal family matter.
"It’s part of the game plan and the things we believe we can exploit against them," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said to Sky Sports ahead of the game when asked about Aubameyang's inclusion from the start. "Let’s see if it works."
And it certainly did. Arsenal were rampant from start to finish in their chilly north London surroundings and despite a second half resurgence from Leeds, rarely looked threatened by Marcelo Bielsa's plucky side.
There were some comical moments which included Bukayo Saka winning a penalty, having it overturned and winning another penalty five minutes later. After the recent controversies with VAR the last thing Arsenal needed were more dubious decisions, but in the end it meant little as Arteta's side completed their job in the first half.
Aubameyang was the start of the show while Saka's tenacity to constantly draw fouls from his opponents created havoc for the Leeds defence, in particular Ezgjan Alioski who told his team-mates he was looking forward to coming up against Nicolas Pepe after his confrontation with the Ivorian in the reverse fixture at Elland Road last November.
Alioski may have been disappointed that Pepe didn't start but Saka certainly provided all the required firepower alongside Aubameyang, whilst Emile Smith Rowe was equally as impressive in the final third.
"He spent a few days without any training sessions, away from the family emotionally drained as well," said Arteta of Aubameyang.
"He's back, he's been training really well and that's why he's starting the game."
Arsenal ultimately got what they deserved from a game which was expected to cause them a lot more problems than it did.
Arteta's side can now focus on Thursday's Europa League match against Benfica in Rome with a frontline firing on all cylinders and confidence restored in his team once again.
