I was watching the match and thinking to myself "this is exactly how the match against Wolves would have been if it weren't for those silly red cards" because just like that game, we once again came guns blazing with intent to kill.
It has been a while since I felt this level of comfort from our games. Three minutes into the second half, the opposition was bringing the ball out of their net for the fourth time, while we were celebrating Auba's hatrick. He even had the chance of grabbing a fourth for himself and a fifth for the team but that struck the woodwork.
The first half of the game was a joy to watch. From the first whistle, we pressed opponent with purpose and could have taken the lead but Odegaard struck it a bit too hard.
We didn't have to wait too long though, as Auba gave us the first goal after fine link up play and some quick footwork opened up a shooting opportunity.
After getting the opener, the game got a bit calm, until Bukayo Saka's slaloming run through two defenders won us a penalty in the 24th minute. VAR surprisingly overturned the decision.
We piled on the pressure after that event and were largely in control of the game. Arteta did a fine job in nullifying Bielsa's tactics by depriving them of room to play out from the back and move the ball quickly from attack to defence as his team likes to do.
After being denied the first penalty, Saka got another bite of the cherry after an error from leads goalkeeper forced him into a wrong tackle in the box. The penalty was tucked away nicely by Auba.
To cap off a brilliant first half, Bellerin grabbed a goal after some hard work from Saka and quick passing on the edge of the opponent's box created the opportunity.
The second half continued in pretty much the same theme as the first, as Auba grabbed a goal. This time, the goal came from a header, after he was found by the constantly roaming Emile-Smith Rowe.
After going four goals up, we didn't do ourselves any favours, as we invited pressure on ourselves. A combination of fatigue and perhaps the complacency that comes from being four goals ahead got to the team, and we let in two goals against the run of play.
Despite conceding those goals, we looked like better value for money and could have gotten two more goals from efforts that struck the crossbar.
We've not struck a chord or anything but at least we proved that we could play well. We went up against a well drilled Leeds team that gave us troubles in the reverse and turned them into minced meat.
I always knew it was going to be a difficult season, despite the honeymoon start to Arteta's career. I was under no impression that we'd slap everyone in the league on our way to the title, so this process was fully expected.
Compared to the team that was putting us to sleep at the start of the season, we look far better. A change in tactics, new players in the squad and improved performance by certain players has lifted the mood and has me feeling optimistic for the future.
When I looked at the names on the bench, I felt a sense of relief knowing that despite fielding such a strong team today, and injuries to two key players of the team, we still had game changers rested for the Europa midweek fixture.
We still have some growing to do, especially if we want to catch up with the big boys of the league. We're over ten points behind league leaders, Manchester City, who we face in our next game. Arteta has bested his previous boss once in two games they've played, and considering how they wiped the floor with us in the fixture we lost, it sort of feels like it was a fluke.
That notwithstanding, we have to shelve the game against the Juggernaut that is City and tune our minds to the Europa League tie against Benfica on Thursday. That match is our straight ticket to the Champions League and would be a fine piece of silverware to add to our cabinet.
We stay hopeful for the future and keep on supporting the boys, regardless of the situation. One win, three points in the bag and that's all that matters. We move to the next game, with a bit more optimism and the wind behind us. Until we meet again, up the Arsenal
