What a performance that was yesterday, eh? On Friday night week before last we were worried about whether this team would be able to sustain the momentum of the streak we were on. An unconvincing draw with Palace (who, despite the fact they played City with 10 men for a whole half, still picked up a win at the Etihad yesterday) led us to nerves and worry, but it was allayed with an assured and impressive performance in front of the home crowd. But the worry remained for me personally because doing it at home and doing it away are two very different things. You have a vociferous home crowd, you have a team in Leicester who are better than Aston Villa, you have a tactically astute Brendan Rodgers who had won three of his last four Premier League games against The Arsenal.

This was the big test. This was a day in which we’d see whether this Arsenal team will bumble along with a defeat every few matches. This was a game I feared and I make no shame in admitting yesterday I would have taken a draw to keep the run going. When the match kicked off my heart rate monitor on my fitness watch was at 122 beats per minute.

Everyone knows Arsenal start quickly. The last couple of managers we have played against have even admitted it in press conferences after the games. But our problems have been not fully taking advantage of it. We did against Palace but only to the tune of one goal and they came back in it. We sort of did it against Villa because we got our first goal on 23 minutes. We did it against the Scum because we scored on 12 and 27 minutes. But yesterday was the most visible evidence of us doing it and putting them game to bed so early that we’ve seen all season.

Rodgers bemoaned the lack of a free kick in the build up to the goal and to be fair he possibly had a point. But between then and when Gabriel nods the ball in on five minutes there was a plethora of passes and opportunities to stop us from scoring so you can’t complain about the free ick not being given when there were so many more other actions. But it was a fine header from Gabriel and I have to say this guy is looking like a beast at the moment. Good in the air, scored a fine goal, but defensively is where he earns his crust and my word he is in good form right now. Imperious. He is imposing in the box, wins his duels, plus he is good in a foot race. I love to see him and he is fast becoming that big personality in the centre of our defence, Ben White was the big money signing and he was good yesterday, but Gabriel is the main man at the back for me and it was good to see him step up and put on such a display.

But the worry is always that we need a second and although in the end we didn’t need it thanks to some Ramsdale heroics (I’ll come to that in a second), you always fear that Jamie Vardy is getting his inevitable goal against us and so I gave it a proper fist bump when Smith Rowe tucked away his second in two games. Arriving late in to the box, his composed stroke in to the corner was wonderful to see. Arteta has challenged him to up his game and deliver end product. In my head that is getting in to double figures for goals and assists and with the goal against the Scum, Villa, Leicester, as well as two assists this season, he’s already on five actions leading to goals already. That’s brilliant and we’ve all talked about how those young players need to add end product. Well, he’s doing it now, and I couldn’t be happier.

So we’re two up, controlling the first 30 minutes, but it was obviously not going to stay like that, which is where you look to your defence to remain resolute. For too many years we’ve seen us play well in patches and the defensive side of the game let us down.

Step forward Aaron Ramsdale. What a performance and the clear man of the match by a mile. In that first half his save was majestic from the Maddison free kick but even before that he’d made a world class save to tip a shot wide of his goal. If Leicester go in at half time only a goal behind I think the chances of us picking up a win are reduced massively because I think there’s a clear psychological barrier when you are two behind than when you are one behind and Ramsdale’s performance yesterday was one in which he wasn’t going to let anything past him.

As a former ‘keeper myself I can really appreciate his dominance in the air, but also his technique with his feet when positioning himself. Half of a save is made with good feet positioning but then in the second half he made a number of saves by spreading himself big and stopping any chance of a player beating him. He was superb from the start to the finish and definitely helped to turn this from one point to three with his output. What a player we have here. Big saves, big presence, big personality (even getting some time in there to have a bit of banter with the Leicester fans behind the goal), big three points he’s helped us get.

And it is a big three points. A Massive three points. In my head i’ve spent a lot of time going “yeah but” when thinking about the run we are on. The players still need to put in the performances in like this next weekend at home to Watford, but with every performance and result like that yesterday, the “yeah but” caveats that are going on in my head are being silenced more and more. The players look like they are buying in to what Arteta is looking to do. There is a collective of these young players who are fighting for each other and the manager and we need to appreciate that. It feels like it is starting to click.

I know there is still a long way to go. There are teams that will test us and even next weekend we’ll come up against a Watford side who have shown they can do the business away by smashing Everton at Goodison recently. But with every game like this the belief grows not just amongst the players and coaching staff, but the manager as well.

Catch you all tomorrow.