Arsenal 3 Dinamo Zagreb 0: About as comfortable as it gets

It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve got through 90 minutes in relative comfort.

The rigours of the winter schedule in the Premier League, mixed in with various cup competitions, has made it a gruelling month or so in north London and we have had to dig deeper than is reasonable in order just to make it through.

It was unusual, therefore, to come up against an opponent who was, quite frankly, pretty easy to play against.

There was precious little to cause us any concern against Zagreb other than our own failure to take advantage of their inadequacy. The visitor’s entire game plan hinged on making it horrible, bitty and combative from the outset but it fell to pieces within the first two minutes as Declan Rice scored.

When that happens to a side set up like Dinamo, they are often at a loss for what to do because they simply don’t have a plan B or the tools to change. Aston Villa got incredibly lucky, Dinamo did not.

In terms of territory, possession, chances created and general threat, it was all Arsenal pretty much from the first whistle to the last and that was exactly what we wanted. There’s nothing more exhausting than a 90-minute, backs-to-the-wall slog but this was the exact opposite for us.

It was great to see Kai Havertz pick up a goal and an assist after a turbulent month on the pitch and Martin Odegaard also managed a confidence-boosting goal at the death too. Add to that an encouraging performance on the left from Gabriel Martinelli and there are reasons to be upbeat. We even saw the return of Ethan Nwaneri to the squad and Riccardo Calafiori was on the bench too.

All round, it felt much more positive than it did on Saturday night.

With qualification secured, the manager can look to rest a few players for our final ‘group stage’ match in Girona in a week and it also means we won’t need to play two additional qualifying matches in February. At last, it seems, we might find a period of meaningful rest for a squad of utterly depleted players.

Before than, however, we have a few more matches to get through, starting with a trip to Wolves on Saturday. Realistically, our hopes of winning the Premier League title are slim but we still shouldn’t be viewing this fixture as anything other than an opportunity to put three points on the board. Improving how we perform in front of goal will be vital, however.

On thing is certain, it won’t be as easy as it was last night.