Could we have asked for any more than we were served up at the Emirates in the late kick-off on Boxing Day?
Aside from the inconvenience of a penalty-kick awarded to an otherwise lifeless West Ham side, Mikel Arteta’s men were in near total control and had three excellent goals to show for their efforts, even coming from behind to claim the win.
Factor in the bonus of Arsene Wenger’s return to the Emirates for the first time since 2018 and it all adds up to a superb afternoon’s work on our return to Premier League action for the first time since early November.
In fact, despite a break from competitive football of some six weeks, it scarcely felt as though we had been away. Defeat to Juventus in our final ‘public’ friendly caused a few jitters among he perennially downbeat among us but it needn’t have been so – the Gunners picked up exactly where they had left off.
The whole show was held together by our captain, Martin Odegaard, who looks with every passing minute on the pitch like a Rolls Royce of a player purchased for the price of a Lada. His close control, passing and awareness of the game is unmatched in this Arsenal side and it was he who pulled the strings in the heart of midfield.
Another two assists for the Norwegian’s collection was just reward for an outstanding performance.
Coming into the game, there was a great deal of pressure on Eddie Nketiah’s shoulders, with the absence of Gabriel Jesus keenly felt by those who worry that the Hale End youngster might not be everything we need to inspire our title charge. I confess to share those doubts.
It seems that Eddie has something to prove whenever he takes to the pitch and, more often than not, he does just that. The West Ham match was another such occasion.
His turn and finish for our third goal was top class. There isn’t really much else to be said. While we are spoiled with goals from our wide forwards, we also need contributions from up top and Eddie delivered again. His service might not have been ideal but he turned all his guile and cunning into end product in a way that elite strikers often do.
It seems now that he will get another run in the team and all he can do (continue to do, in fact) is put the ball in the back of the net. Every time he does so, a little piece of our doubt is chipped away.
Two players who enjoy near total faith and belief in their games are Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli and they were both on the scoresheet again on Monday night. It’s difficult to know what more we can ask of two players who have the world at their feet. They are so good it seems impossible to know where to place their ceiling and, as we continue in our push for progress, that’s a tremendously exciting prospect.
‘Pay them whatever they want’ is an oft-used phrase when our favourite players enter contract negotiations but, in the case of those two, there is a strong case to be made. We’ve worked incredibly hard to rid our wage bill of the overpaid, underperforming buffoons of the late Wenger period and, of course, we shouldn’t rush to return to such a scenario but there can be no doubting the worth of those two young men to this club’s future. Seriously, pay them what they want and let’s move forward.
As a whole, the performance was quite excellent throughout and we retain our place at the top of table going into January – that’s amazing. It is still worth bearing in mind, though, that West Ham were atrocious. They offered precious little in attack and lacked the sort of defensive nous to support a counter-attacking approach.
What I’m trying to say is, let’s not get carried away. It was an enjoyable and important win, as they all are, but we have Brighton, Newcastle and Spurs to come in short order and I feel confident that all three will prove twice as difficult as the Hammers. Let’s see where we are in two weeks and reassess.
For now, though, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!
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