Impressive Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 victory away to Brentford on Sunday, avenging last season’s 2-0 opening night defeat and returning to the top of the Premier League table.
Despite a number of absentees, most notably captain Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the Gunners dominated against the Bees in a manner few teams do, with a complete display across the 90 minutes.
After a fast start, William Saliba put Arsenal 1-0 up from a corner on 17 minutes, before starting a move from the back which resulted in an inch-perfect Granit Xhaka cross being guided in by the head of Gabriel Jesus 10 minutes later.
Fabio Vieira, on his full debut and deputising for the absent Odegaard, lashed a shot in from outside the box five minutes into the second half to put the Gunners 3-0 up and end any hope of a Brentford comeback.
It was an exhibition of control from Arsenal who dictated the tempo of the game throughout and prevented their opponents from posing any real danger.
Arsenal managed the game better than they have done all season and, instead of rushing the ball forwards with every possession, slowed the play down at crucial moments to retain their control.
The adaptation to injury, circumstances and tactics led to yet another impressive display, especially in the wake of their first defeat of the season.
After the international break, Arsenal face two of their rivals for the Champions League places in Tottenham and Liverpool.
With both games at the Emirates, it is a brilliant opportunity for the Gunners to build momentum and gain confidence should they beat two of the top teams in the league.
Managing difficult periods of the season is crucial for Mikel Arteta's men to meet their aspirations and bouncing back from the defeat against Manchester United as they did on Sunday was impressive, but this aspect to Arsenal needs to continue.
The Gunners lost back-to-back games in the league four times last season and given the quality of the top teams in the division, repeating that would be very costly.
The next time we see Arsenal now will be in October, hopefully with a near fully-fit squad ready for the North London derby.
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