Where does one start after a performance like that yesterday, eh? There are so many takes and so much to get through from an eventful game that seemed to have everything from an Arsenal perspective. But most importantly, three very precious Arsenal points.

Yesterday morning I wrote about having a good feeling on the game. I had no rhyme nor reason for it; Arsenal had been poor of late, confidence felt like it would be on the floor, against a Chelski team who had been flying high, had just managed to get to the FA Cup final, who had a bigger squad packed with more talent.

And yet Arsenal showed up with a patched up squad and showed so much character to breathe life in to our collective brief that maybe, just maybe, this top four race isn’t run for us just yet.

Of course there will be more games to come and we will have more hiccups and disappointments I suspect, but last night and this morning isn’t a time for any future thinking, it is a time to live in the ‘now’ and the ‘now’ is basking in a glorious victory against one of the best teams in the league away from home.

Just think – we were wondering where this goal-shy Arsenal team were going to get goals – yet yesterday we rocked up and scored four away from home. It’s the crazy-mad unpredictability of the Premier League and on a morning after a victory like yesterday, you just have to love it.

We know there are flaws in this team. We know that they won’t play like that every week between now and the end of the season. We also know that some of the stand out performers to ably won’t be at the club next season. But by golly, that doesn’t matter, because those Arsenal players turned up and served a massive – HUGE – adrenaline shot of confidence back in to the team. London Colney will be buzzing today and aside from the practicalities of picking up three points after a rough previous games, what I am also taking today is the big confidence boost this team will have ahead of a really difficult run of matches to come.

Consider it this way – win against Southampton and loss to Chelski, or the other way around – which would you think would inspire the players more? So as frustrated as I was at the weekend, the way everything has played out over the last week, my hope is that this win will give the players even more impetus to turn up at home to United and hopefully put in another good performance and pick up more points. It will be really tough, because United won’t be as bad as they were on Tuesday, but we have put ourselves in a good position from a morale point of view.

It didn’t feel like it at half time though, I will admit, because we had twice blown a lead within five minutes and defensively we looked a little shaky. Rob Holding was jittery, Ramsdale flapped at a couple of crosses and with their first fluky deflected goal the ‘keeper will probably be watching the videos today and tomorrow and wondering whether he could have done better. But at least he can do it safe in the knowledge that the team stepped up and in attack the players did their bit.

None more so than Eddie Nketiah. Starting his second game in a row, we saw a guy willing to hassle and harry, chase down lost causes and in general put defenders under the kind of pressure that forces errors. The first goal was entirely of his own making, with a little help from a decent channel ball in behind Christensen by Nuno Tavares. But Nketiah’s drive to make the mistake, then composure to slot it beyond Mendy, had the kind of cold-blooded killer finish that we’ve longed for in recent weeks.

Take a seat Laca, you aren’t getting in this team for a while, providing Eddie keeps that kind of performance up.

He got a scrappy, poachers second, but that’s exactly the kind of tenacity we’ve missed and to put us up for the third time in the game was fantastic to see. He was superb all night but so was Smith Rowe when on the pitch and his finish for the second goal was coolness personified. I love Ødegaard’s fist smash on the ground in delight too. It was the response of a man who was elated and as captain for the night the delight was tangible I thought.

Likewise too, we should have props for Saka, who got on the scoresheet at the end through a very clear penalty and I have no idea what Azpilicueta was moaning about; he was all over Saka and even Job Moss couldn’t deny that from us. But Saka had Alonso on the back foot all night. There was talk about him playing at right wing back but I don’t think we can call it out as a specific position, because we switched formation and set up all evening.

And that’s where I have to give props to Arteta, because he got it tactically spot on last night. In possession Saka drove forward on the right and Tavares drove forward on the left, more like wingers, and it was Tavares winning the ball high up the pitch for the third goal that showed that. Arteta had leant in to the specialisms of his players with that set up; play Nuno further up the pitch and give him defensive cover in the shape of Gabriel, Xhaka and occasionally Elneny, who I thought also had an excellent game covering space.

Then, in defence, Tavares and Saka tucked in to create a back five and made it really difficult for Chelski to play through us. We compacted the spaces and made ourselves into the same low block we found difficult to break down in the game against Southampton and in the second half the approach worked a treat.

Kudos to Mikel on that. I thought he got it all wrong against Brighton and I called him on it. Last night he got it all right and should receive the same level of praise as he received criticism.

This was a big win. It was a win we hoped for but probably didn’t expect. It needs to be a platform now though. Arteta needs to be looking hard at what he does on Saturday lunchtime because the game will play out differently to tonight. I hope he’s ready and today I have more confidence that his players will be than I did last weekend, and that can only be a good thing.

Catch you all tomorrow.