Last weekend's opening Premier League match of the season for Arsenal was a struggle.
Mikel Arteta's men were hardly free-flowing in pre-season and that was in evidence at Old Trafford as they laboured to a 1-0 victory.
Alas, the Gunners did win and secured three points that built a platform for an incredible 5-0 win over Leeds United on Saturday evening.
Timber-Calafiori-Arsenal
Arsenal were perhaps a little slow to get going on the goals front but they eventually burst into life on a day of many positives for the north Londoners.
The biggest positives from Arsenal's win over Leeds
Let's be honest, there was only going to be one result here this weekend. Before the game had got underway a certain Eberechi Eze was announced to the Emirates Stadium faithful as an Arsenal player.
The saga was remarkable. Eze was on the verge of signing for rivals Tottenham Hotspur only for a call between Arteta and the England international on Wednesday paved the way for an incredible hijack.
Eze-Arsenal
The Gunners board came together and within hours they had a deal agreed with Crystal Palace.
Once of Hale End, it marks a stunning return to the Arsenal and the thought of the 27-year-old playing in this attack is mouthwatering.
Speaking of which, it was a day of joy for Viktor Gyokeres. Last weekend, he was grilled, he was the scapegoat for an underwhelming performance away in Manchester.
In all honesty, it wasn't his fault. Arsenal struggled to create and Gyokeres was left isolated. Well, he hit back at the critics superbly on Saturday, scoring twice.
Gyokeres-Arsenal-Leeds
While the Swede's second was a well taken penalty, his first goal in a competitive match for the Gunners was an excellent one. Riccardo Calafiori, who picked up two assists on the day, pinged the ball in behind for the forward to run onto.
Gyokeres found possession in his favoured left channel, burst into the penalty area and then tucked the ball home at the near post.
For Arsenal's big marquee signing, it was the perfect response to last weekend, but he wasn't the only to find form.
Bukayo Saka found the net in explosive fashion while Jurrien Timber, making his first start of the campaign, bagged twice.
So, it's all rosy as far as the Gunners are concerned, but for a player who failed to get on the pitch, it was not an ideal day.
Arsenal star will suffer after Madueke and Eze arrivals
On Saturday, there weren't too many surprises as far as the team sheet was concerned but it was eye-catching to see that Noni Madueke started on the left hand side of the pitch.
With Eze having also now signed, the competition for places in that area is likely to be fierce.
Madueke-Arsenal
Madueke did not score or assist on his first start for the Gunners but it was a productive first outing, notably registering two key passes, attempting five crosses and winning half of his duels, via Sofascore.
There will be better performances to come from the summer arrival but it was perhaps a landmark day for Gabriel Martinelli.
A week ago, the £48m-rated Brazilian was given the nod and like Gyokeres, became a scapegoat for the sluggish performance that played out.
Martinelli vs Man Utd
Minutes played
Touches
Accurate passes
Shots
Key passes
Successful dribbles
Crosses
Possession lost
Times fouled
Stats via Sofascore.
Fans have seemingly run out of patience and on today's evidence, you'd now be hard pressed to consider Martinelli a regular starter again.
In 2024/25, he started 25 of the 33 Premier League games he featured in, scoring eight times in the process. That's a handy tally but it's not the elite level Arteta requires to win the league.
Martinelli-Arsenal
Leandro Trossard received a pay increase in midweek but the Belgian is in a similar boat. He's a tremendous squad player but you are unlikely to get an elite level of performance out of him on a consistent basis.
Madueke is still getting up to speed but on a day where he made his first start and Eze signed, it was damning that firstly, Martinelli wasn't selected to start, and secondly, that he didn't feature off the bench.
What's more damning is that Arsenal picked up injuries too. Yet, with Martin Odegaard and Saka going off, the Brazil international was nowhere to be seen. Ethan Nwaneri and the remarkably talented 15-year-old that is Max Dowman were both preferred.
Max-Dowman-Arsenal
A great day for Arsenal it certainly was, but Martinelli should be fearing for his place in the side now moving forward.