Gunners finding range

AS Arsene Wenger relaxed into his seat with this game in its death throes, it was easy to remember that it has been a long time since the Arsenal manager appeared so relaxed.

It used to be that the club’s fans would arrive in north London simply wondering how many their side were going to win by, as the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp went about demonstrating their innate superiority.

Yet this season the script has been rather different. A woeful start, a late influx of new players, but finally there is a team and a run of form befitting this club and their manager. Nine wins out of 11 games in all competitions is not to be sniffed at, and this was the sort of facile victory that used to be routine.