With the Anfield horror show still fresh in the memory it was imperative to get back to winning ways against Bournemouth and Danny Welbeck's brace ensured we did just that.
Summer signing Alexandre Lacazette also got his name on the scoresheet as the Gunners recorded a 3-0 home win and, just as importantly, kept a clean sheet. By no means does it paper over the cracks of the defeat at Liverpool as there are still mistakes to be eradicated and plenty of hard work to be done. But at least we stopped the rut by getting back to winning ways rather than slipping further into crisis, so let's just hope this can be a turning point for us.
It took just six minutes for Arsenal to open the scoring as Welbeck headed in Sead Kolasinac's cross...just the start we needed! Arsenal very nearly doubled their advantage 10 minutes later, but Asmir Begovic produced a fine save to claw away Mesut Ozil's free-kick.
The Gunners continued to push forward, but were off target from their next attempt as Granit Xhaka shot over the crossbar from Lacazette's pass. But the hosts made no mistake shortly before the half hour mark when Ozil's long pass found Lacazette, who exchanged passes with Welbeck and fired home a powerful strike to give Begovic no chance.
Begovic nearly gifted Arsenal a third goal when his poor kick was blocked by Welbeck, but the Bournemouth goalkeeper recovered well to deny Lacazette from the rebound.
Kolasinac saw his shot blocked behind for a corner as Arsenal took a comfortable 2-0 lead going in at the break.
Bournemouth almost reduced the deficit within three minutes of the restart, but Jermain Defoe's header hit a post and the striker was unable to convert the rebound.
That miss proved costly for the Cherries as Arsenal put the result beyond doubt with their third goal two minutes later. Welbeck latched onto a perfectly-timed pass from Aaron Ramsey before slotting the ball beyond Begovic and into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Ozil sent a shot just off target following Hector Bellerin's lofted pass before Ramsey was denied by Begovic from close range.
Arsenal continued to create chances as Welbeck's deft chipped shot went just wide as the striker attempted to complete what would have been a great hat-trick.
Substitute Francis Coquelin saw his powerful strike deflected behind for a corner by Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake. Alexis Sanchez, almost set up a fourth for Arsenal with a fine pass, but his fellow substitute Olivier Giroud saw his effort well saved by Begovic.
Coquelin had been on the field for less than 15 minutes when he fell awkwardly and was forced off with a hamstring problem. With the Gunners having already used all of their permitted substitutions they were forced to see out the remaining minutes with 10 men.
Bournemouth tried to make the most of having an extra man, but Josh King's late header was well tipped over the bar by Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Arsenal pushed forward in injury time with Sanchez forcing a great save out from Begovic, but it didn't stop the Gunners from running out as deserved victors.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Bournemouth fans Liam Searle and Tristan Chapman both believe the result has made their next match against Brighton all the more important.
"Obviously it was not the sort of result we were looking for, but hardly a surprise if I'm being realistic," said Searle. "Zero points at this stage of the season is frustrating but when the last two games have been against City and Arsenal I wouldn't have expected much.
"Conceding early was tiresome but the bigger problem was offering nothing. I expected Arsenal to have a point to prove and I really rated Lacazette when he signed for them so at least I was proved right.
But getting 41% possession and only two shots on target makes it clear we aren't getting anywhere, and you could tell from the season's start this wasn't going to be like the 3-3 game at home last season.
"Eddie Howe should never be discussed in the sack race but this makes the Brighton game on Friday an absolutely vital three points, for pride alone."
Chapman echoed his fellow fan's sentiments adding: "Arsenal bounced back well after the Liverpool defeat. The Cherries on the other hand have yet to find their feet this season.
"I thought they would build on the performance from the City match but evidently that wasn't the case. The next match against Brighton is going to be the acid test.
"Lacazette appears to be a class act. Now Sanchez is going nowhere he may as well knuckle down and play."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
That was just the kind of result we needed to get our season back on track, but we need to make sure we prove the Liverpool defeat was just a blip and not the signs of another frustrating season.
We will get the ideal chance to prove this in our next league game away at champions Chelsea. Games at Chelsea are always tough and we will undoubtedly be the underdogs, but whatever the result we still have a big point to prove and need to show we can match these kind of sides and not fall away pathetically. This match really is huge!
But before we can even think about that we must focus our attentions on our first Europa League group game - the visit of German side FC Cologne!
Our group isn't exactly inspiring and makes me feel even more frustrated about us not being in the Champions League this season, but we can't change the past and we just have to get on with it and try make sure we can have a European adventure.
We must also remember that winning the Europa League is a possible route into the Champions League so we need to take it very seriously.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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