MIKEL ARTETA put on a Christmas show for Arsene Wenger as the Frenchman returned to the Emirates for the first time.
Wenger spent 22 years as Arsenal manager but had not been back since leaving the club in 2018.
However, four-and-a-half years on, he took his seat in the stands and celebrated as his former team came from 1-0 down to beat West Ham and maintain their title charge.
Arteta, who was captain under Wenger for two seasons, said: “He picked the right moment to come, a really special day because Boxing Day is a beautiful time to play football and I thought the levels were what he deserved and hopefully he’ll like what he saw.
“The players didn’t know about Arsene coming tonight. We wanted to keep it quiet and allow him the space he deserved.
“Thanks so much to him for coming. Hopefully walking through the building he’s going to feel everything that everybody thinks of him and the legacy he left here.
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“He’s in the dressing room and we’re going to talk. I’ve been involved in the process of bringing him back to the Emirates but it was all about the timing to make that step.
“I hope he’s going to be willing to spend more time with us because he is such a big influence for my career and the way I see the game but also for this club.”
The win over West Ham came exactly three years after Arteta's first game in charge, a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
Only Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka survived from that stalemate on the south coast as Arteta has well and truly made his mark on this squad, his squad.
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Just Xhaka, Rob Holding and Mohamed Elneny were at the club under Wenger in 2017-18.
But six of the starting XI last night plus Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira off the bench were brought into the team by Arteta – although the front three who all scored were very much young fringe players under predecessor Unai Emery.
Now, Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are key stars, Eddie Nketiah must step up in the absence of Gabriel Jesus while influential captain Martin Odegaard was at his purring best on Monday night.
It was West Ham who went in front when Said Benrahma stuck away his first-half penalty but this Arsenal team do not crumble or panic when they go behind – they are patient and believed their pressure would eventually pay off.
Saka got Arsenal level with a composed finish after Odegaard's mishit shot from range.
Martinelli put the Gunners in front with his near-post shot squeezing past ex-Arsenal goalie Lukasz Fabianski, who should have done better.
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And with all the attention pre-match on Nketiah and how he would cope leading the line following Jesus' surgery, he got the goal his performance deserved.
The Hale End graduate, 23, was a constant pain for the West Ham defence and his superb turn and finish into the bottom corner will have done both the player and his manager the world of good.
Arteta singled out Nketiah for special praise and said: "I gave Eddie a big hug and he totally deserved that.
“He showed his strength, quality and timing and the composure of his finish was outstanding.”
Reinforcements are needed and will be made in January, likely starting with Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, but the current crop laid down a marker on Boxing Day.
But these three points took Arsenal seven clear of Newcastle at the top of the Premier League table – a far cry from the sixth-placed finish in Wenger's final season before he was pushed out.
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Maybe the legendary boss no doubt stayed away from the Emirates because he wanted to give Emery and then Arteta space to develop their own team and step out from his own incredible legacy.
Well, Arteta has certainly done that and Wenger, like all Arsenal fans, has every reason to be enjoying the ride that is seeing them remain on course for a shock but fully-deserved bid for the title.
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