Yesterday I wrote about how I feared that Leicester would hit us on the counter. I wrote about being super nervous for this game because I thought we would get a match similar in frustration to the game last year; not taking our chances and sucker-punched by a goal on the counter by the likes of Vardy et al. What I didn’t take in to account is just how different this side is. Different in terms of personnel even, because in that 1-0 defeat to Leicester last season we had Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Ceballos and Aubameyang all on the pitch, but yesterday those players were off plying their trade somewhere else and the players who did take to the field showed just how different they make this Arsenal team.

The mentality of these players feels right. The work rate feels right. The energy and intensity feels right. But so does the togetherness. I thought yesterday was an excellent performance not because we played Leicester off the park and scored a bagful of goals, but because it felt like the kind of win successful teams get at home. 2-0 against a decent side like Leicester but making it look textbook with goals in both halves and then managing the game to a natural conclusion, feels like it is a brilliant step in the right direction and I for one am so excited to see how far this young team can go.

And it is a team, there is a unity, everyone is playing their part in the orchestra. There are no free-form rogue jazz musicians that are going off piste; we have a collective of players who look bought in and yesterday produced the fifth win in a row to tiptoe us back in to fourth with three games in hand over United, West Ham and Wolves with one, three and five points respectively over both teams. Then below them is the Scum with whom we have a game in hand and six points. And suddenly it is becoming clear just how difficult it is to put a run together like this Arsenal team have been doing, because those five wins have propelled us in to a fantastic position in the league.

As I said, everyone is playing their part and what we got yesterday was not just the win and not just goals from unlikely goalscorers (Partey and Lacazette!), but the clean sheet that will be making our back line happy today. And they all contributed too, from Ramsdale with a couple of superb blocks in the first half, to White and Gabriel marshalling Leicester’s threat in the centre. I thought Tierney had an improved game and whilst Leicester clearly targeted the left hand side with Barnes up against Cedric, after a couple of iffy moments he did pretty good in the main.

Then in front of them the calmness and assuredness of Partey and Xhaka kept us ticking over, with the Ghanaian also finding time to get in to the box to nod us ahead for the first, although if you’re a Leicester fan you’re probably pretty raging about how he was unmarked at the near post to nod it in. That goal coming early in the game was great and settled any initial nerves in the ground, which meant we could focus on seeing how Arsenal extend their lead.

And extend it we did in the second half and on the hour mark. I couldn’t get a proper look at the incident in real time because it was at the opposite end of the pitch to where my seat is, but when you watch it again you see it was quite clearly a handball because had Soyuncu not got the touch off his hand then it was going in, so whilst the decision wasn’t made in real time, VAR did it’s job. Which is more than you could say for Stockley Park in the earlier game against Chelski (shirt pull on Newcastle’s Murphy versus Xhaka shirt pull against City, anyone?). But our job was done and the second goal was the cushion we needed. I don’t know what Rodgers was on to call it a soft penalty though. It was clearly a handball, it clearly stopped the ball going goalwards and it was obviously not a player whose arms were down by his sides in a natural position. End of discussion as far as I’m concerned.

So another three points, another win, another good performance, but let me save the best until last.

Martin Odegaard.

Wow. What a special player he is. I joked yesterday that I think I love him more than my cat. And I frigging love my cat. But Odegaard yesterday was scintillating to watch. He glides effortlessly across the pitch. He finds space with movement that other teams just don’t see. His passing range is phenomenal and his ability to knit passages of play together is delight to watch. He ran the show yesterday and whilst the stats will tell you he didn’t score or assist, the eyes tell us all just how much value and importance he brings to this team. Real Madrid must be watching this guy and wondering why they didn’t give him the keys to the Madrid team, because he is a Rolls Royce footballer and it is amazing to watch him. And he’s ours. And he seems to be thriving under the responsibility he’s getting in this team. He is being trusted and he is repaying that trust tenfold. He is the man of the moment and for us to have a successful season he has to stay fit, firing and producing like he has done in the last few games, then we’ll find ourselves in good shape providing his form continues like this.

Today is a good start to what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult week. I am in no doubt that Leicester represented the easier of the three games we have this week, but we have passed the first test and now go in to the Liverpool game with a bit of a free hit. Which is all we could have asked for. The game faces need to be put on by the players as they prepare for that test, but for us, it’s a lovely old couple of days basking in yet another win.

Catch you all tomorrow.