On Sunday evening, Arsenal beat Sheffield United 3-0 at Bramall Lane, thanks to a brace from Alexandre Lacazette and Gabriel Martinelli's first goal in over a year.
Arsenal ended their four-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over bottom-placed Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday evening.
The Gunners took all three points thanks to two goals from Alexandre Lacazette and a goal from Brazilian starlet Gabriel Martinelli, who scored for the first time in over a year, ensuring that they would go into Thursday's UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg against Slavia Prague in good spirits.
In fact, the Gunners put in a dominant display that deserved all three points, as they were rarely bothered by the managerless Blades, who have won only four league games this season.
Although Arsenal was always going to win this game, the result inspired manager Mikel Arteta, who had just seen his team lose 3-0 at home to Liverpool just over a week before.
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'I think we had a very good score,' the Spaniard said. After a long period without it, a clean sheet was needed.
'With the ball, they were extremely effective, intelligent, and composed, which I greatly appreciate. I'm really pleased because we showed great cohesion, understanding, and the right attitude.'
Though Tierney did not provide the same amount of attacking performance as he usually does from the left-sided full-back role, he did not appear disjointed defensively.
In addition to filling in at left-back, Xhaka demonstrated strong leadership and support for his teammates, especially during the Gunners' goal celebrations. Xhaka was filmed during the match as part of the Gunners' Open Mic feature to see if he said anything noteworthy.
After Lacazette had opened the scoring with a tap-in and Martinelli had doubled Arsenal's lead with a tap-in, the former Lyon man added his second goal of the game by latching onto Thomas Partey's excellent through-ball and slotting a low effort past Aaron Ramsdale in the United goal.
Before sprinting up the pitch to join Lacazette in celebration, Xhaka made it a point to talk with Party and thank him for setting up the goal.
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'Great throw!' Xhaka exclaimed, confirming his approval for the beautifully weighted pass his teammate had just delivered.
In reality, Xhaka was dead on with his prediction; it was a fantastic ball from a deep-lying midfielder.
Gunners boss Arteta praised Xhaka's success at left-back, saying: "Because we thought they were going to try something, he had a particular position for today's game.
'He possessed the necessary qualities to grow into that position. He did a fantastic job with that. It's a pleasure to work with him because when you ask him to play center-forward, his first response is, "Oh, yeah, I'll do my best.'
'I thought he played very well today, and with Kieran out for the season, it gives us another choice.'
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