Arsenal Vs Brentford: 5 things we learned – Pass, pass and pass

1. Crisp passing lovely to see

I wanted to single out a string of Arsenal players for their play in possession. Danny Welbeck and his hold-up ability. Matteo Guendouzi for his conducting of the midfield. Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s imagination and ingenuity. Rob Holding’s composure and accuracy. But really, Arsenal as a whole played well in possession — I could single out almost every single player.

This performance was how I envisaged a Unai Emery team playing, for whatever that means. Slick, speedy, precise and fluid, this was an excellent attacking performance from a collective perspective. The movement off the ball, the options that every single player had when looking to pass, the efficiency of the touches and the angles that were created. It was wonderful to watch.

Arsenal could have scored a whole lot more than they did. Oftentimes, their final pass was just a little wayward or the finish was poor or the opportunity didn’t quite break right. But the build-up was phenomenal.

It’s a very encouraging sign for the work that Emery is undertaking in training and for the Gunners’ prospects this season. This is how he wants his team to play. It might be the first time that we’ve actually seen it all year, and it was lovely.