Arsenal returned to winning ways on Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 triumph over Newcastle United.
The Gunners were the favourites to beat the Magpies at the Emirates Stadium, but they had a poor first half where they were disappointing with their finishing.
They made amends after the break, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli finding the back of the net. The latter scored with a sublime controlled volley.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Nuno Tavares redeems himself
Tavares had a forgettable outing at Liverpool last weekend where he gifted the Reds with their second goal with a poor backpass.
It was widely anticipated that Kieran Tierney would replace him today, but Mikel Arteta surprised many people by sticking with Tavares.
The Portuguese tried his best to make a difference in the opening half, but there was fan frustration as his four attempted shots were far off target.
The 21-year-old eventually made his mark in the 56th minute as he played through Saka for the goal after a lovely inverted run.
The left-back was full of running over the 90 minutes. Arteta placed his trust in the youngster, and he delivered with a good performance.
It was a good piece of man management from the Spaniard. Tavares could now be hard to drop for the Old Trafford trip.
Newcastle United in deep relegation trouble
The recent take over from a Saudi-led consortium led to wild celebrations from the Magpies faithful, but there has been no joy since with the club still searching for their first win of the current Premier League campaign.
No club in the Premier League era has gone on to avoid the drop after failing to win any of the opening 13 games.
The Tyneside outfit were never expected to come up with three points today, but their performance was lacklustre, with Jonjo Shelvey being the sole attacking threat.
They are currently six points adrift of safety, and the next two games could be crucial. They are set to face Burnley and Norwich City, who are right in the relegation tussle.
The failure to win both games could put them under huge trouble irrespective of a winter spending spree.
Gabriel Martinelli proves a point
Martinelli had played just 10 minutes in the previous 10 league games, but he was introduced before the hour mark against the Magpies following a minor injury for Bukayo Saka. Just 93 seconds later, the Brazilian scored with an exquisite finish.
The 20-year-old perfectly judged the flight of the pass from Takehiro Tomiyasu before volleying his shot beyond the onrushing goalkeeping.
It was a perfect response from a player that has been left frustrated on the bench despite showing plenty of promise early on in his career.
Alexandre Lacazette turned around his fortunes this term with a superb last-gasp equaliser against Crystal Palace, and Martinelli may get more minutes on the back of his sublime goal.
He certainly gave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a lesson on how to finish. The club captain missed a simple tap-in in the opening half.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com.
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