The surprise when Willian signed a three-year contract at Arsenal was tempered by awareness that, for the here and now, the 32-year-old remains an exceptional operator. Three assists on his debut provided instant reassurance of that. It was a masterful display from the Brazilian and a convincing one from his team, too, that maintained the inescapable sense of progress under Mikel Arteta’s stewardship.
Fulham were not poor opponents but lacked teeth and faded on their return to the top flight. Once Alexandre Lacazette had given Arsenal the lead, capitalising on a rebound from Willian’s shot, the outcome never looked in doubt and the margin of victory could have been higher. But Arteta will be happy enough with a goal from another debutant, the centre-back Gabriel Magalhães, and a sublime clincher from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Both were set up by the former Chelsea schemer, and the clarity with which Arsenal performed bodes well.
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