Noni Madueke leads Arsenal's charge of the new signings in easy 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest

Two months ago Arsenal supporters were signing petitions, some even defacing murals, so outraged were they by the prospect of doing yet more business with Chelsea. It didn't matter that Noni Madueke was an England international, that he had been a key cog in the Blues' success last season, that Cole Palmer spoke in such glowing terms about the fire to his ice. A small fraction of the fanbase had made up their mind that they didn't want another perceived Chelsea reject. 

You wonder if those some fans were among the 57,000 on their feet in the 79th minute, rising in tribute to the new man who had so delighted north London. He might not have got the goals or assists, but there was no questioning who led the charge of the new signings in this impressive 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

From the outset Madueke added verve and directness to a side who can be guilty of indulging their predilection for the slow build up. That approach is at its best when Bukayo Saka is running the right flank, Arsenal's starboy carefully peeling back the layers of the opposition defense before applying the killer blow. That is probably still going to be Mikel Arteta's default, but it really helps to be able to take such a contrasting approach, all the more so when Madueke was as "exceptional" as his manager labelled him, unbidden, after the game.

When Madueke got the ball, he didn't take his time to size Morato up. He simply went at the Forest defender, repeatedly, a drop of the shoulder and fizz of the afterburners enough to have him flying towards the penalty area. Arsenal swiftly realized they had a good thing going and, particularly in the first half hour, possession was funneled to the flank in much the same way it goes out right when Saka is on the field. By the end of the game Madueke would end up with more penalty box touches (12) than the entire Forest team (11).

Set up in a very un-Ange Postecoglou mid block for the first half, the visitors were reeling, hurling more and more bodies at their own left side in a desperate attempt to slow Madueke's advance. It rarely worked and on another day the 23-year-old would have a more outsized contribution to the scoresheet. Five of the 13 chances the hosts created were from their No.20. The expected possession value of Arsenal's actions -- a statistic that assesses the likelihood of each action resulting in a goal -- was 1.66 today; 0.8 of that came directly from Madueke.

Arsenal fans didn't have the advanced stats in front of them and yet somehow they were in raptures anyway. Arteta said on Friday that the frosty reception Madueke received on his move from west to north London was due to "a lot of past decisions that were related to Chelsea and Arsenal." This offered a counterpoint to the more indignant view that greeted the transfer in the summer. There can be little sweeter than sweeping in to claim a player off your rivals that you mold into a star. Chelsea had priced Madueke in line with other wingers who moved this summer, Arsenal were prepared to swiftly meet their demands with a $70 million deal because, per CBS Sports sources, they thought they were getting one of the best on the market.

Indeed as their manager puts it, Arsenal were more convinced to get a deal done as their supporters were spray painting "Arteta Out" on the walk up to the Emirates Stadium. 

Asked what Madueke has brought to the squad, Arteta said, "A lot of courage, that's how I'd describe him. Obviously a lot of quality but a lot of courage. We were about to sign him and there was that reaction around him. I spoke to him and he was like, '*blows raspberry* I'll go for it, I can't wait to put that shirt on and play for you guys.'

"I said, 'wow, let's bring him'. If I was convinced before, I'm more convinced now that he's going to do it. He has such a power, such a capacity to repeat efforts because to be able to do that physically you have to have a different specimen, I think. He's certainly that, but he's very skillful, very unpredictable. He's so willing to learn and it brings joy. 

"I look at him and he's always smiling, he's always trying things. He gets one wrong, he goes again and that's what I love about the creative players because you need that to be successful."

Where Madueke led the other four summer signings in the XI swiftly followed. After a trying half hour an injury to Murillo afforded Postecoglou an opportunity and obligation to switch up his defense. Neco Williams shuttled out to left back to attempt to stem the the tide. No matter, Eberechi Eze had been motoring along quite nicely across the field. He would play a key part in the game's killer blow, timing his run perfectly to pierce the high line Forest rolled out in the second half. Riccardo Calafiori's pass found him in stride, he in turn rolled the ball across for Viktor Gyokeres to turn in. The Swede might have found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after visits to Manchester United and Liverpool, but last season Arsenal were missing a battering ram to slam through lesser teams at the Emirates. He looks to be that.

Of course, by the time he scored Martin Zubimendi had already blown the doors off the game with a dipping volley that will rank among the very best first goals scored in an Arsenal shirt. His second was even more surprising, the sitting midfielder ghosting in at the back post to head home Leandro Trossard's first touch of the game. At the other end Cristhian Mosquera made big tackles and line breaking passes like a veteran of 50 Premier League matches, not two. Arsenal Football Club: five years of exemplary defensive signings.

"The new ones that they started, five of them today, I'm really impressed with them," said Arteta. "I think you can sense and feel that there are new relationships flourishing there that are going to give us different things, to become more unpredictable. Noni, I think he was exceptional as well. We play a front three that we've never played before, good exposure of them, in terms of the timings as well, exactly what they needed because they played a lot of minutes."

And so a game in which Arsenal were without Saka and Kai Havertz, in which they once more lost Martin Odegaard to an early shoulder injury, was negotiated with ease. Last season a game like this one might have seen the Gunners lack the firepower to carry the day. Not now, not when they have injected such talent into the squad. Lucky they listened to Arteta's gut rather than whatever was scrawled outside the Emirates.