Many fans wanted a response and for players to step up to the plate and some even feared the visit of our bitter rivals, but the entire starting XI raised their game as Arsenal claimed a dominant 2-0 win over Tottenham.
Admittedly the free-kick that led to our opening goal was rather soft, but we thoroughly deserved the victory and most of me felt very positive after the match. However it did beg the question of why we don't perform like this more often? Arsene Wenger and the players got things defensively and tactically spot on! The hunger and desire was superb, Mesut Ozil massively upped his game in a man of the match display and defenders Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi were immense.
Does this performance and result mean all is fine at the club now? No it doesn't as we need to perform like this on a more consistent basis first, but it certainly was a joy to watch and maybe, just maybe, we can use it as a catalyst to push on positively for the rest of the season. Whether or not we will is another story.
We took the game to Spurs straight from the kick-off and one of the things that impressed me most was that, even after half-time, we didn't let the performance dip. I was half expecting Tottenham to come out for the second half with renewed confidence, but we didn't give them chance to get going. Yes, they were poor, but that was partly because we didn't allow them to get into gear and put in a solid defensive performance.
Arsenal started brightly with Alexandre Lacazette firing a shot over the bar early on, while Harry Kane shot straight at Petr Cech at the other end.
Lacazette was denied twice in quick succession as Spurs' goalkeeper Hugo Lloris raced off his line to thwart his international team-mate. A combination of Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier then prevented the French striker from prodding in Hector Bellerin's low cross.
Spurs were on the back foot, but still had chances to have broken the deadlock with Christian Eriksen's shot hitting a post and Cech saving Kane's headed effort.
Those missed chances proved costly as Arsenal opened the scoring when Mustafi headed home from Ozil's free-kick after 36 minutes. Spurs were not happy at the award of the free-kick and some also felt the goal was offside. Alexis Sanchez was adjudged to have been fouled by his Spurs' namesake Davinson and admittedly there didn't seem to be too much in it, but there was nothing wrong with Mustafi's header that capped a great performance by the German.
It got even better for the Gunners six minutes later when Bellerin released Lacazette before the Frenchman set up Sanchez to control the ball and fire home from close range. There were appeals for offside, but I genuinely felt Lacazette was level even though it was a very tight call that could have gone either way.
The confidence at which we were dominating our rivals was superb and it was arguably Mustafi's best performance in an Arsenal shirt, with the German producing a superb tackle to deny Kane in the box early in the second half. Mustafi's centre-back partner Koscielny also impressed and the defensive duo were solid at the back.
It is hard to find any fault with this display, but it is a shame we couldn't add to our lead. 2-0 can be a dangerous scoreline, but credit to the players for how they pressed and denied Spurs as the visitors surprisingly didn't really ever look like mounting any kind of comeback.
Eriksen tried his luck from outside the box shortly after the hour mark, but his shot sailed harmlessly over the crossbar.
Sanchez sent a shot over before later being denied by a decent save from Lloris as Arsenal failed to find a third goal.
It could have made for a nervy finish had Cech not produced a top quality fingertip save to deny Dier, but Arsenal remained on top with Lloris reacting well to keep out Sanchez late on.
Substitute Alex Iwobi sent a shot wide in stoppage time, but it didn't stop Arsenal from running out worthy winners.
There was still time for Tottenham to nearly muster an equaliser, but once again Mustafi produced an excellent block to deflect Son Heung-min's effort over the crossbar.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Tottenham fan Nicholas Walsh admitted his side had been second best on the day at the Emirates.
"What a complete and utter shambles,!" said Walsh. "Time after time we left ourselves exposed at the back and, in particular, on the right hand side.
"Key players went missing and, with the exception of a few minutes of the 90, Arsenal completely dominated.
"Some fans may hang on to the fact that the first goal was suspicious. Should it have been a free kick? Perhaps not. Was it onside? Definitely not. Did it change the outcome of the game? Certainly not the game I was watching.
"Arsenal may well be our bitter rivals but in this match we found ourselves to be tactically, physically and mentally inept. Quite the opposite to Arsenal, in fact. So for now we wait for a true power shift in North London...it could be a long, hard slog. #WengerOut #COYS"
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The performance and result against Spurs was spot on, but the key question is can we replicate this on a more regular basis? Only time will tell, although I am not sure we will be consistent enough.
Although we are only down in sixth, only goal difference is keeping us behind Liverpool and just one point separates us from Spurs. Second-placed Manchester United are in fact only four points ahead of us, but leaders Manchester City are still way out in front.
Focus must now switch to the Europa League. Qualification is already assured, but top spot is still to be finalised. Although we are currently at the top of Group H we haven't mathematically secured it yet, but a win at FC Cologne would ensure we do just that!
Cologne's hopes of qualification aren't over just yet so we have to make sure we don't get complacent. I'm sure we can get a result and it is important that we build on the Tottenham performance and result and prove it wasn't a fluke.
Our next Premier League game sees us travel to this season's surprise package Burnley, who currently lie in seventh and just one place below us. If we play like we did against Spurs then we should get all three points, but we definitely can't take the Clarets lightly and need to bring our A game to Turf Moor.
There are no easy games in the Premier League, but with Manchester United on the horizon in a few weeks we really need to be looking at taking maximum points from Burnley and Huddersfield in the upcoming matches.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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