It was the first day of the rest of their season. After a patchy start to the campaign, littered with red cards and brain fades, double saves and points needlessly dropped, what Arsenal needed more than anything else was a straightforward win.
It’s in the routine Saturday 3pm kick-offs, just as much as in the live televised clashes, and in wins ticked off almost without incident, far more than in the great expenditures of emotion, that championships are decided.
