How Arsenal became Premier League table toppers 

A long way to go but so far so good says Nick Manfredi as Arsenal move to the top of the Premier League table 

Arsenal put a very welcome end to their mini West Ham hoodoo as we strangled our east end visitors in a more than comfortable 2-0 victory on Saturday afternoon. 

Despite missing a host of chances in the early stages the outcome of the game was never in any serious doubt. 

On another day we may have added some extra gloss to the scoreline, but it mattered little.

Once Declan Rice put us in the lead on 38 minutes the game was as good as won and it was especially pleasing as the win, along with Liverpool’s defeat at Stamford Bridge meant that Arsenal rose to the summit of the Premier League and we will stay there for the duration of the international break.

That really is a satisfying sight.

Overall, every player performed well.

It is a little disappointing Viktor Gyokeres was unable to get on the scoresheet. It certainly isn’t for lack of trying and the big Swede has improved his all-round game since he came in.

You can tell his teammates are very comfortable giving Gyokeres the ball with his back to goal but you get the sense some of the players are still getting used to his style of play which is normal.

I thought Gyokeres combined really well with Martin Odegaard in midweek, so it was a real disappointment to see him go off injured again.

The skipper seems to understand Viktor more than anyone else so far.

Perhaps if Odegaard had played more minutes Gyokeres might have scored a couple more goals by now.

He will certainly continue to improve as the season progresses.

I was also slightly miffed about Eberechie's Eze miss.

It was the type of chance you would expect him to score, and you can tell he is desperate to get off the mark for us in the league.

His all-round game was excellent as usual and it’s clear the goals are coming.

Performance wise I think Eze has had a very positive start to his Arsenal career.

Elsewhere, Bukayo Saka did his usual Saka things and topped it off with an emphatic penalty.

Clearly he is Arsenal’s number one penalty taker even with Gyokeres on the pitch.

Our defence was as imperious as it almost always is. It’s lovely to see the consistencies of this Arsenal team all over the pitch.

We are an exceptionally well-oiled machine these days and there is plenty more fuel in the tank.

It is a marathon not a sprint and right now we have edged in front by a nose around the five-mile mark.

A long way to go but so far so good.