Arsenal came from behind for the first time this season to claim victory over Fulham at the Emirates on Saturday.
A deflected strike from in-form Martin Odegaard and a close-range finish from Gabriel Magalhaes late on saw the Gunners to victory after Mitrovic’s opener had threatened an upset.
It was the first time this campaign that Mikel Arteta’s men had to respond to a genuine setback and answered, at least in part, one of the big questions that has been hanging over this side; can they fight their way out of trouble?
In truth, it was a game in which the Gunners rarely looked stretched but, ironically, the setback served as a useful catalyst to spark some life into an attack that had struggled to find the right tempo.
To their credit, Fulham were compact and cautious, with a defensive shape and commitment that made life extremely difficult for us. Retaining possession was simple enough but progressing the ball beyond the midfield proved tricky for large parts of the match.
Strangely, it wasn’t until they had the lead that Fulham started to loosen their grip at a time when their focus should have been redoubled. With the added urgency and impetus behind them, Arsenal started to find space in the right areas and the chances started to flow.
Our struggles, particularly in the first half, were not helped by the absences of Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The absence of the Ghanaian proved particularly troublesome as Mohammed Elneny and a slightly shackled Granit Xhaka failed to get the ball forward with the same sort of purpose.
If Partey is to be absent for any length of time this season, Arteta will need either to back Sambi Lokonga in the middle of the park or dip into the market because what we lacked in midfield yesterday was obvious.
The games start coming thick and fast now, two games a week will be the new normal, so there will be a lot of minutes to play. Partey’s record shows that he rarely gets beyond a dozen games without some sort of injury issues so a mid-term solution must be found.
That aside, I think we can be pleased with our work. Fulham were set up to make life as difficult for us as possible and we came through.
Odegaard was outstanding again and looking every inch a bargain at £32million from Real Madrid. When all other avenues were closed off yesterday, he found ways to generate space and it was his drive and craft that made the difference with our backs to the wall.
A shout-out must also go to Gabriel. It was his error that allowed Mitrovic to open the scoring and he could easily have been rattled for the remainder of the game. He and his teammates rallied, however, and he was there at the end to bundle the ball home. The experience will have been good for him and the team as a whole.
All we have asked of this team so far this season, they have achieved. Four wins from four is an outstanding effort and the manner in which they have gone about things has been impressive. There is still a wearying road ahead but, if we can keep putting points on the board, we will achieve the objectives set for ourselves.
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