Arsenal thumped Newcastle United 4-0 to get their second win of the year on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium. Pierre Aubameyang, Nicholas Pepe, Mesut Ozil, and Alexandre Lacazette were on target as the Gunners turned on the style.
Below are three things we noticed from the win.
Nicholas Pepe Comes Of Age
When Arsenal spent 72 Million pounds to land the Nicholas Pepe from Lille, fans were ecstatic and expected big things from their record signing.
However, the Ivorian winger has failed to justify his price tag with inconsistent performances and is usually in and out of the team. Against Newcastle, Pepe was the standout player for the Gunners and assisted twice while he also got a goal himself.
He should have had more assists but Eddie Nketiah did not bring his shooting boots with him. That is the kind of performance that Arsenal fans will need to see more often from their main man.
Mustafi Rock Solid, Again
Arsenal kept two consecutive clean sheets in the league for the first time since April last year. This was made possible by a better organization at the back but also due to a return to form by Shkodran Mustafi.
The German defender put in a wonderful performance against Newcastle and even had time to pick long balls to the forwards most of the time. He is usually error-prone but Mustafi has been rock solid in the past few weeks.
Arteta Not Afraid To Ring The Changes
Mikel Arteta dropped Alex Lacazette and Lucas Torreira from the starting line up while Matteo Guendouzi was completely missing from the matchday squad.
Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah came into the line-up and did extremely well which validates Artetas choices.
The Spanish manager has a certain ruthlessness to his side and showed that he is not afraid to drop any under-performing star. That is exactly the kind of approach that this Arsenal squad needs moving forward.