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Mikel Arteta enjoyed a dream North London Derby victory with near-perfect Arsenal plan that just needs one last tweak
As weekends go, this was rather special from an Arsenal perspective. To see your main Premier League title rivals drop points while putting four past your North London rivals will put a cherry atop any cake.
However, what makes it extra sweet is the manner in which the Gunners took all three points. Naturally, the narrative of Eberechi Eze swirled through pre-match chat, but very few could have predicted just how big a game he would have.
It is an occasion where I have to hold my hands up. The impending return of Martin Odegaard was giving me joy that Eze might again return to the left-hand side, but after today, that reality becomes very difficult to cling to.
However, it is possible that we see Arteta kickstart his original plan, which was given less than half a season to take effect. Many will remember Odegaard was injured in the home win over West Ham when both he and Eze started together in front of Declan Rice.
This, therefore, will remain an option when the captain returns to the fold in the coming weeks. There was hope he might make the squad this weekend, but it came somewhat too quickly.
Eze rightly takes the headlines, but there is another player who certainly deserves plenty of praise, Leandro Trossard. Scorer of the opener and responsible for setting up Eze’s third goal, the Belgian has been brilliant this season.
There was talk in the summer of a potential exit, but instead, he signed on to improved terms. The newly upped wage packet is certainly proving to be a worthwhile investment, but Arteta made it clear there was no way he could leave last summer.
“Yeah, for me, no, because for me it was forbidden for him to leave,” Arteta told football.london in the post-match press conference. “No chance.
“I know the player that he is, and surrounded with the players that we have, he's a player that is going to make a difference for us. I fully agree.
“It was one of the best games, so aggressive with and without the ball, so effective, he could have scored another one or two goals, and he was involved in so many positive actions. So that's what we need. As I said, I think individually the players were excellent today.”
With so many players absent, Trossard has needed to step up and with three goals and two assists in his last five league matches, he is one of the form players in the division, no doubt. Even better for Arteta, he welcomed back Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli to the squad from injury.
Despite moving six points clear at the top of the table, there can be little doubt that this side could be even further ahead had they been able to call upon all the quality the squad possesses. Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Odegaard and Gabriel Magalhaes continue their fight back to full fitness.
“We need players back immediately today,” Arteta said when asked about the gap the club have opened at the top. “We've got Noni [Madueke] back on the pitch, which is great, but we're still missing a lot of important players and we're going to need all of them.
“The good news is, we lost Big Gabi, which is a massive blow, and Piero comes in, and I think he was fantastic from the beginning.”
There is, if I am being really harsh, one nitpick that I cannot avoid, but bring again to the fold. When Eze scored Arsenal’s fourth in the 76th minute, could Arteta have rung the changes at that point?
With Bayern Munich looming on Wednesday and Chelsea soon after, any chance to maximise the rest for this team would be ideal. Calafiori even went down with what looked like a cramp when Piero Hincapie was brought off in the 88th minute, but it took until the 92nd minute before the Italian was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Madueke coming on for Trossard in the 78th minute was the first change. Arteta has truly become one of the best coaches in the game, and the biggest trophies are likely just around the corner to solidify that very claim.
However, if there is going to be a delay in those inevitable accolades coming the Spaniard’s way, it could be due to the man management and squad rotation. With several players coming back soon, Arteta will have all the resources to effectively change things and keep the team fresh.
One down, two to go. This defining week for Arsenal has got off to a perfect start.
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