Four-goal Arsenal demolition of Atletico Madrid should surprise no one after Mikel Arteta plan

Arsenal's win over Atletico Madrid struck a chord with many but perhaps not all for the right reasons

There are moments in seasons where a player, a manager or perhaps an entire team can finally click, reach new heights and go on to achieve great things. The reality is, though, that this is not the case for Arsenal or even for Viktor Gyokeres.

It might be easy to categorise this result against Atletico Madrid as some sort of springboard and evidence that a new gear has been reached. Arsenal might have scored four against one of the best defensive teams in the world, but the reality is they've been threatening to do just this for some time.

They were the better team in the first half against Liverpool; they dominated Manchester City and should have got more than the 1-1 draw they ended up salvaging. One or two-goal wins over Athletic Club, Olympiacos, West Ham and Fulham could have easily been far greater.

Mikel Arteta was asked in the post-match press conference on the very subject of silencing critics. However, the Spaniard fairly pointed out that the game plan seen which demolished Atletico Madrid, has been the same strategy all season.

"Yeah, but this is more about the results at the end," he said. "The way we prepare the matches is always to try to hurt the opponents as much as possible, as frequently as possible.

"According to the players, we believe they have the best capacity and qualities to do it from the beginning, and then this is football, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Today we were extremely efficient with the team's competition and we're really happy."

Whether it's a misplaced pass, a poor finish or the end product not quite being there, this Arsenal team have been a coiled spring. What was witnessed on Tuesday night was not a sudden shift, it was just the next step and more than anything else, it was a warning.

Both Liverpool and City were fortunate to face the Gunners so soon, after so much change in the summer, and some critical positions going through change and key players missing. Arsenal were handed a tough start to the campaign in both the league and Europe.

Yet they have come out with the best record in England and joint-top of the Champions League table. This Arsenal side are now hitting their stride and not only that, their centre-forward has found the target, not once, but twice.

Five goals in 12 reads as much better reading than just the three. While each goal was not a one that would be entered into any goal of the month competition, but that frankly does not matter.

The Swede needed this and while Arteta might point to what Gyokeres has done outside of his lack of goals as something to credit, and to be fair he has been correct in that regard, there is little chance he hasn't been slightly concerned about the nine-game drought for club and country that had emerged. Putting that to bed can hopefully open the floodgates to more.

"Well, I think he deserved it because everything that we were seeing in terms of what he was bringing to the team and how much he was helping the team in many areas, apart from scoring goals in the last few weeks, there was no debate about that," he said. "It was about keeping that belief in himself, that emotional state that he can enjoy and play freely.

"Again, it was one of those two goals, and as you said, a big smile on his face."

There were other great performances from Gabriel Martinelli, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Magalhaes and of course the deliveries from Declan Rice, but one player stood-out. Not for his goal contributions, but for every aspect of his game.

The number six role has gone through a major change for the Gunners with Thomas Partey leaving. Taking on the anchoring midfield role is no simple task and frankly Martin Zubimendi has gone beyond all expectations.

His passing, defensive coverage, progressive philosophy and comfort when in and out of possession has been sublime. If there was one signing that was pegged to be the player to take Arsenal to silverware this season, it might not have been him, but it should be now.

Yet another clean sheet on the board, Arsenal's 11th in their last 14 Champions League home games. David Raya's ninth of the season, although he was perhaps fortunate to see Guiliano Simeone's shot on his open goal drop wide after a wild moment.

The reality is this Arsenal team is something very special at the moment and even one of Europe's heavyweights could not lay a glove on them. Time for a few cold showers, refresh and go again when they take on Crystal Palace in a weekend which could yet hold more gems across the league for Mikel Arteta and the Gunners.