It was the team all Arsenal fans wanted, for a little while at least, so there was much excitement ahead of the game followed by a lot of sadness, some jubilation and a weird sense of disbelief that Arsenal actually managed to win a match.
Finally.
Some wanted David Luiz instead of Sokratis, nobody even cared that Shkodran Mustafi was nowhere to be seen again, and the attack was organised as it should be – with players playing where they are best.
This was going to be it, wasn’t it?
Here are some things I noticed from the game
1Freddie knows Matteo needs time
He’s young. He was brought in to be ‘one for the future’ but Unai Emery picked him as often as he could, starting him in every league game this season.
Since Freddie has taken over, Guendouzi has started one of three games, and he was taken off in that, something that rarely happened under the Spaniard.
Too much responsibility was placed on his shoulders too soon as he arrived as a kid from a league significantly inferior to the Premier League.
It is right that he is guided into the first team, not just thrown at it like he’s a lump of silly putty we hope sticks.
2Reports that Arsenal left Mustafi in Norwich are unconfirmed
Once again the German, for the second game after his horror show at Norwich, was nowhere to be seen in the squad.
3Arsenal players looked like they remembered how to football
For the first hour or so the nerves throughout the side were palpable. It was explicit football instead of implicit.
Once that first goal went in, however, it’s lie they all suddenly remembered they know how to do this.
4Kieran Tierney is harder than all of us
Tierney doesn't need a stretcher for a shoulder injury. Glasgow. pic.twitter.com/OMNME9s1aZ
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) December 9, 2019
Although he was seen in a sling later in the evening before heading to hospital, Kieran Tierney was having no truck with a stretcher when both his legs were still attached. e simply got up, fashioned a sling from his own shirt and walked off.
5Are we all just forgetting about Granit Xhaka and pretending it never happened?
Is that what we’re doing? Just quietly pretending it never happened? It would seem so.
6Martinelli could be Arsenal’s saviour this season
He set a new Arsenal record on Monday night and is scoring at a rate that makes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang look bad.
7Many newspapers just make stuff up
2 days ago, many main media outlets tried to tell us the players were refusing to back Freddie because they wouldn't reply to requests for comment pic.twitter.com/lSjroHECjh
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) December 10, 2019
Arsenal have clearly instructed players etc not to speak about the situation at present.
This is being spun as the players refusing to back Ljungberg because none responded to requests from journos. pic.twitter.com/M9vhWuYsrI
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) December 8, 2019
8You can still kick Arsenal players with impunity
FFS pic.twitter.com/h70RvJ2Yk4
— arseblog (@arseblog) December 9, 2019
This wasn’t even a yellow card.
9Arsenal had no shots on target on the first half for the first time this season
Didn't think we'd had this many tbf https://t.co/WF5fXZvmtp
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) December 9, 2019
10Arsenal fans are/were seriously concerned about relegation during the game against West Ham
I am seriously concerned about relegation…
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) December 9, 2019
11Sky got their stats wrong and just kept going
Did sky really say that? That can't be right
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) December 9, 2019
Turns out they meant to say ‘away from home’ but they just kept repeating this stat instead.
12Arsenal are world politics in football form
13Pepe didn’t arrive against West Ham, he’s been here all season
Are we just forgetting the two wonderful free-kicks he scored earlier in the season? Or what he did to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk?