Arsenal faced off with Thomas Frank’s Brentford in the day’s early Premier League kick-off.
The Gunners were the favourites heading into the game, but fans were no doubt cautiously optimistic after Mikel Arteta’s side failed to score against Brentford last season.
There were no such issues on Sunday, though, with Arsenal coming away with a 3-0 win.
William Saliba opened the scoring from a corner before Gabriel Jesus made it two by heading in a superb Granit Xhaka cross.
Fabio Vieira, signed form FC Porto over the summer, was also handed his first league start for his new side, replacing the injured Martin Odegaard.
The Portuguese scored Arsenal’s third of the day, which was an absolute thunderbolt.
Xhaka was also wearing the captain’s armband on Sunday for the first time since his infamous outburst vs Crystal Palace in 2019 that saw him stripped of the captaincy.
Xhaka, though, led by example vs Brentford and was not afraid to tell his teammates how it is.
As per football.london: “He could be seen yelling at Bukayo Saka to get into position and after William Saliba’s opening goal, he grabbed the team into a huddle to ensure that they regained their focus. Several sources within the club have indicated that the dressing are absolutely delighted that Xhaka is now getting the love from supporters that is clearly there for him inside the club.
“This was crystallised in a heart warming moment at the end of the match where Arsenal fans serenaded him for a good minute or so while he stood in front of them and absorbed the adulation. In his post match press conference Mikel Arteta highlighted this is a sight he was happy to see.”
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