Morning! Isn’t it a rather splendid one today, eh? A rather happy, joyous and delightful Sunday is to be had for all Arsenal fans, methinks. That’s what you get from an absolutely barnstorming performance by the team against a side with whom we’ve had some real problems in seasons past.

I must admit, I didn’t see that result coming, but a few of the people who I shared a couple of pre-match brewskis with before the game did, and most seemed to think we had a very good chance of beating the West Londoners this time. After all, they’d been carved apart by Liverpool last weekend, they have no John Terry in their line up and if you listen to any of the journo’s and other football shows/podcasts out there, a common theme of Chelski not playing well has emerged since the start of the season.

But that doesn’t usually matter with us, because they usually give us a royal shafting whether they’re any good or not, with last season being a case in point. So I was expecting the usual dominance, some Diego Costa cheating and then a scabby goal to have us all saying “here we go again” come full time.

Boy was I glad with what we actually got. We got an Arsenal team who were hungry, who popped the ball around with the confidence of a team on a run and when Arsenal have their swagger they truly are a joy to watch.

This result and the way the match played out had all the hallmarks of the dismantling of United at home last season. All the damage was done in the first half, so the second became an exercise in control, with the occasional chance to make it four. But given our history with that ‘orrible lot, I was quite happy for us to keep our shape, maintain our discipline in the second half and ensure that three points came before any swashbuckling attacking moves.

Plus, we got a clean sheet!

But what about that first half, eh? It had everything, with fantastic flowing moves, Ozil giving us some ‘no look’ passes, Alexis closing with a high press and forcing an error from Cahill for our first, as well as a resurgent Theo. I thought he was brilliant yesterday. I remarked to those around me in Block Five that it’s almost as if Theo has realised that he’s never getting in to the first XI in this Arsenal team on his technical ability, so he has to do something else to ensure he keeps his place. The lightbulb has flashed on in his mind and he finally gets it – application and graft can be a decent substitute for lack of technical ability.

So now we’re getting a lethal finisher on the right who is closing down attackers in his defensive corner of the pitch, but also further up the pitch, as well as chipping in with goals and assists. And his goal yesterday was hopefully a sign of the front three beginning to ‘get’ one another. The problem we’ve had with Alexis up top up until this point, is that he likes to go hunting for the ball, which leaves us with no attacking outlet. But the position that Theo occupied yesterday was off the shoulder of the defender in the centre of the goal and the result was a tap in to make it 2-0. That’s what a mobile front three has to give you. It has to give you players who will interchange with their position and when that work properly, it makes it really hard to defend against. We were very difficult to defend against yesterday.

The Ozil and Alexis combinations have also been clicking too and yesterday we saw them at their very best for goal number three. Ozil got the goal, but it was also about Alexis’ run to pull across the Chelski defenders to create the space, so when they exchanged their passes for Ozil to knock home, it gave the German enough space to find the inside of the post.

The line up before the game raised more eyebrows, but it’s clear that Arsene didn’t want to change a winning team. I get that and based on the performance yesterday then it makes sense. But he’s going to be forced in to it now I think, because Coquelin looks to have picked up a knock, which forced Arsene to play Xhaka for 60 minutes. I thought the Swiss did well. He kept things ticking over, looked composed enough on the ball and it didn’t seem to weaken us. The injury to Coquelin will give him the opportunity to start a couple of games, so it will be interesting to see if he continues to improve as he goes, starting against his old club Basle on Wednesday.

We should also give props to our defensive two in the heart of our back line. They’re getting better and better with each week and neither fell foul of Costa’s antics. They just won the ball, released it, getting on with the game with no dramas. That’s how you deal with Costa and the Spaniard cut a wonderfully scowling figure all afternoon.

The team is starting to build momentum now. They’ve got some swagger about them and it feels like the engine has warmed up a little bit after a spluttering start to the season. It is frustrating that we seem to go in to seasons undercooked, but at least we’re up and running now, with a squad that shows that Arsene can afford to keep players fresh. Yesterday we didn’t use Gabriel, Elneny or Perez, with Gibbs and Giroud getting a run out from the bench. We have plenty of options in our squad depth and the hope is that Arsene can use those options to keep everyone fresh, because it’s a long season and the more players that can come in and take over, without disrupting the flow of the team, the better the season could be for us.

Enjoy your Sunday. I know I will. And so will Arsene, celebrating 20 years at Arsenal.