Mesut Ozil scored one and set up two as a dominant Arsenal powered past plucky Huddersfield with a 5-0 win at the Emirates.
The German international has had to endure a fair amount of criticism in recent seasons, but his performances have improved of late and his return from illness saw him play a key role, especially in the four-minute spell that won the game for Arsenal.
It was a great result for the Gunners, who have now scored 20 goals in seven home games and conceded just four. It was also a 12th successive home league win and things are looking up for Arsenal, who are fourth in the table. But the victory came at a cost with Alexandre Lacazette, who opened the scoring against Huddersfield, being forced off injured at half-time. In his post-match press conference Arsene Wenger revealed the French striker had a groin injury and could be out "for a while". The injury will rule him out of the upcoming visit of Manchester United, which is disappointing news.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench to score twice to prove he can be worthy back-up for his international team-mate, but Lacazette's absence will definitely be felt and let's hope he makes a speedy recovery.
Lacazette took just three minutes to get on the scoresheet after he latched onto Aaron Ramsey's flicked pass to calmly slot the ball beyond Jonas Lössl in the Huddersfield goal.
Although Arsenal were in control Huddersfield did have chances in the first half, but Aaron Mooy's free-kick was headed off target by Mathias Zanka.
Lacazette very nearly grabbed his second of the evening when his chipped effort headed towards goal, only to be denied by a superb last-ditch clearance by Huddersfield defender Martin Cranie The ball fell kindly for Sead Kolasinac, but somehow the Arsenal full-back put his shot over the crossbar.
Huddersfield refused to give up and Colin Quaner broke free, but fortunately for Arsenal the midfielder didn't make a good enough first touch and Laurent Koscielny was able to deny him with a sliding block.
Quaner had an even better chance as he ran at the Arsenal defence in the early stages of the second half, but Petr Cech reacted excellently to deny him with a save with his feet. Cech also palmed Steve Mounie's deflected strike onto the crossbar and just over, but Arsenal were still in control.
Giroud wasted a great chance when he rounded the goalkeeper and saw his shot hit a post. But the French striker had better luck after 68 minutes when a great team move and some quick one-touch passing saw Giroud score from Ozil's cross.
Ozil set up yet another goal soon after as he set up Alexis Sanchez to smash home a great effort on the half volley. Provider turned scorer when Ozil latched onto Ramsey's through ball and ran into the box to calmly finish beyond Lössl.
With just three minutes left on the clock Arsenal added further gloss to the scoreline as Giroud scored from close range following excellent work and control in the box by Kolasinac.
Five goals to increase the goal difference and now just a point behind Chelsea and closing in on second-placed Manchester United, who we play next. Maybe, just maybe, things are looking up for us. But I won't get carried away as I know just how easily things could change for us either way. This can at least give us a big confidence boost going into the massive clash against Jose Mourinho's men.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Huddersfield fan Andy Dixon was disappointed by the result, but has urged his side to focus on the upcoming "bigger match" against Everton.
"It's a tough ask to have a fixture at Arsenal three days after facing the league leaders," said Dixon. "No team would choose that.
"The early goal was discouraging, but there was resilience until three quick-fire goals killed the game.
"It's a disappointing result, but games against the likes of Arsenal aren't going to define our season. We're on 15 points, same as Everton, who are our next opponents, so that's the bigger match for us.
"If we beat them, we'll be back in the top 10 in the country."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Huddersfield have done themselves proud so far in their first campaign in the Premier League and, although the result went against them, I think they will be okay and stay in the top flight for another season.
We are 12 points behind Manchester City, who are head and shoulders ahead of the rest, and I don't expect us to catch them. However, we need to make sure we still try to mount a serious challenge and I would like to think we can at least challenge the teams around us for second place.
There is still a long way to go though and we need to make sure we don't get complacent or our hard work will be undone. We are above the likes of Liverpool and Spurs and need to keep it that way. Wins like the 5-0 against Huddersfield are always great, but we need to make sure we continue the fine form and for Mesut Ozil to produce more of the same.
Home advantage should hopefully make a big difference to us against Manchester United and if we can produce the same kind of dominant performance that we did last time we met at the Emirates I'll be happy. However, I'm not feeling all that confident and know that Manchester United are very tricky opponents and have a knack of being annoying against us, so there is no margin for error and we'll have to be at our best to get a result.
It may only be one game and it won't define our season, but it could have a big effect on the team confidence so we need to do everything in our power to make sure we get the points.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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