**FA Premier League**
**ARSENAL 5 (Timber 34, 56, Saka 45+1, Gyokeres 48, 90+4),**
**LEEDS UNITED 0**
WHERE to start with this start?
It probably needs to be Viktor Gyokeres, who you can feel the fans of other clubs hoping with all their crossed fingers and bedtime prayers that he’ll turn out to be a centre forward flop. There has been a desperation to mock the man finally brought in to fill the unaddressed pothole in the Arsenal line-up – a greedy centre forward. A quiet first week in the away trip to Manchester United played into the narrative.
[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2231824482)
So the Swedish striker will be delighted with the way he lit up the Emirates Stadium on his home debut proper against Leeds United this afternoon (Saturday), a full 90 minutes in which he delivered two goals and looked hungry for more. Not everything clicked, but the back of the net bulged.
Even before his contributions, there was a party atmosphere for this first league fixture for the Gunners in front of their supporters in north London, a buzzing, cocksure confidence hung in the air that the team.
This belief from the get-go, fuelled by a summer of spending on repair and upgrades, may prove important for the nine months ahead. It seems both players and the fans can visualise themselves as winners of something and ending the chain of near misses. Those ‘we’ll only mess it up’ sceptics are being drowned, at least out for now.
After the grinding victory at Old Trafford last week, the good vibes were only boosted further by the sight of Eberachi Eze, snatched from Spurs’ hearts earlier in the week in what felt like a significant transfer coup, stroll into the centre circle before the game in jeans and his new No. 10 shirt. He’s one of our own came the chant, glossing over the forward’s distressing rejection in his teenage years.
The pyro team blasted some flames along the sidelines, we had the loud drums of _Good Old Arsenal_ and the lovable dirge of _North London Forever_ – it was all a little Superbowl for a bit but powerfully intimidating too. Manager Mikel Arteta said afterwards that he felt something different in the atmosphere, and this positivity meant there was no knee jerk catastrophising when both Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka had to be withdrawn hurt.
“Today I saw something else in the stadium. It was another enthusiasm, positivity, the way they lived the game,” Arteta said. “I loved it and hopefully we give them a lot of reason to continue like that.”
Arsenal have suffered three bad injuries in the first two weeks of the season when you add in Kai Havertz being sidelined with a knee injury and there is a live debate about how hard players are worked in the Arteta era, but it seemed a discussion for another day as Arsenal enjoyed this mismatch against a newly-promoted team with its own mission not to finish in the bottom three.
The closest Leeds came to scoring was a header from Pascal Struijk which David Raya pushed over the bar in the same vein with which he had kept United at bay last week. They produced little else but it did need a trademark corner goal for Arsenal to break the deadlock ten minutes before half time.
Once again Declan Rice swung the ball in and Jurrien Timber angled a header into the corner of the goal, despite being surrounded by three Leeds defenders.
‘Set Piece FC’ was briefly trending on social media until Timber slipped Saka through into space down the right hand side and the forward sent a rocket shot past Lucas Perri in the visitors’ goal. The poor keeper could only raise an arm in desperation as the ball flashed by.
After the break, Gyokeres decided it was his turn and grabbed his first with a typical muscular run at the Leeds defenders, refusing to pass and splatting a low shot into the corner. We saw the mask celebration for the firs time and Arteta smiled.
Timber scored his second from another corner confusion and late on Gyokeres matched him on the scoresheet with his own brace. He never looked in doubt of missing the penalty won by Max Dowman, the 15-year-old substitute who had been lightly tripped while dancing through the opposition defence.
[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2231824327)
It was almost pointed that after so much money had been spent on the new arrivals, the Gunners finished this game with young home grown talent on the pitch in the exciting Dowman – still not old enough to have done his GCSES – Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Arteta is teaming Hale End graduates with marquee signings and it’s an exciting blend. Too often in the back end last season, fixtures at the Emirates were stodgy, boring even. Today was a glimpse at something much more satisfying. Eze’s tricks should only add to the mix.
With Gyokeres and Dowman there as the obvious headline stealers, a big money buy and a teenage sensation, there wasn’t a single question asked in the press conference about how Noni Madueke performed well having been picked ahead of Gabriel Martinelli or the impressive show again by Riccardo Calafiori, who is making it hard to work out who Arteta’s best full backs are.
Don’t be fooled it was all about the Swede, though.
Arteta did have a warning for the rest of the league when it came to his new Number 14.
“It’s clear where Viktor is really dangerous, he’s a superpower and let’s put him as much as possible in those kinds of scenarios because something good will happen,” he said.
It’s Anfield next.
**ARSENAL: Raya, Timber (Mosquera 64), Calafiori (Lewis-Skelly 64), Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard (Nwaneri 38), Madueke (Dowman 64), Saka (Trossard 53), Gyokeres**
**SUBS NOT USED: Arrizabagala, Kiwior, Martinelli, Merino**
**LEEDS UNITED: Lucas Perri, Gudmundsson, Bogle (Byram 83), Rodon, Struijk, Stach, Tanaka (Longstaff 58), Gruev, James (Aaronson 66), Gnonto (Okafor 66), Piroe (Nmecha 58)**
**SUBS NOT USED: Bijol, Bornauw, Darlow, Harrison**