Arsenal have made it three wins from three in the Europa League this term, putting Molde to the sword in the 4-1 defeat.
The Gunners didn’t start the fixture comfortably, and our opponents used their composure to get a lead inside the opening 30 minutes, but that goal did wake the team up.
The last 15 minutes was all Arsenal, and before we could even be angry about the officials decision to disallow our perfectly good goal, we had the ball in the net again.
Joe Willock’s penetrating run forced our rivals to flap, shortly before the break, and at 1-1 at half-time we would have been feeling confident in the way we ended the period.
We started the next half much of the same, as we piled pressure on with some neat work on and off the ball, and once we managed to secure the lead thanks to another own goal, we really began to turn the screw.
Nicolas Pepe capped off a fine performance with a neatly placed goal to put us two goals clear, with substitution Saka, who came on to pile more punishment on Molde, setting up the Ivory Coast international.
Joe Willock was also amongst our better players on the night, and he also managed to cap his display off with a late goal, closing the game off at 4-1.
Pepe and Willock will deserve considering for more regular minutes if they can carry on their form, while the latter could well pose as the answer to our creative issues in midfield this term.
Will the manager already be looking at the young midfielder for some Premier League minutes? Do we have to take these Thursday night performances with a pinch of salt because of the opposition?
Patrick