After Wednesday's game at Emirates Stadium, Luton boss Rob Edwards said that we didn't have any weaknesses for his team to exploit - so how did we produce such a strong display against the Hatters?
Adrian Clarke has watched the game back and delved into the stats to uncover some key reasons why we made it look so straightforward.
Emile makes the difference
Arsenal’s two goals owed plenty to the hunger and intelligence of Emile Smith Rowe, who impressed greatly on his third Premier League start of the campaign.
Reading Alfie Doughty’s square pass superbly, he tucked in and sprinted across to make a game-changing tackle on Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, that led to our crucial opening goal.
From this turnover Martin Odegaard exchanged passes with Kai Havertz, before drilling a crisp left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
Smith Rowe was also instrumental in our second goal, providing a low centre that was turned into his own net by defender Daiki Hashioka.
Initially he made a run from left to right that was ignored, but as play continued, he sensed an opportunity to hold his position in a gap that appeared between the lines.
Well aware that Luton’s midfield was ball watching, he held his position as play was switched towards Leandro Trossard out wide.
Credit must go to Kai Havertz for ensuring he occupied the nearest centre back Teden Mengi, who felt he had to stay with the German rather than dashing out to get close to Smith Rowe.
Racing into the box, our number 10 held onto the ball until support arrived, and his low cross forced the own goal.
In a performance that also included seven successful passes between the lines, two shots, two passes and two interceptions, Smith Rowe served up a timely reminder of the quality he can supply.
Dovetailing with industrious Odegaard
Throughout this encounter Smith Rowe also interchanged smoothly with fellow attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard, floating around looking for pockets of space in an unrestricted manner.
You can see from how they combined on these pass maps, how fluid their positioning was as they constantly looked to disrupt Luton Town’s well organised 3-4-2-1 shape.
Smith Rowe to Odegaard
Odegaard to Smith Rowe
Odegaard was a real tone-setter with his industry too.
Always on the move, our skipper made 352 intensive runs in a performance that also saw him cover 12.08km, both team highs.
Relentlessly closing down opponents, or looking to find space when we had possession, his effervescent energy rubbed off on others, especially during a bright first half.
The Norwegian’s sensational piece of skill inside the box, where he chopped the ball from one foot to the other, also set up Smith Rowe for a great chance inside the danger zone.
Focused defending
The Hatters managed just one shot on target as we racked up a division-leading 13th clean sheet of 2023/24.
In truth Rob Edwards’ side enjoyed some promising moments, but as soon as they entered our final third Luton were engaged by a switched-on back four.
Returning left back Oleksandr Zinchenko’s defending was particularly excellent.
Tucking inside when needed, he showed terrific game intelligence to make five clearances, two interceptions, two successful tackles and eight ball recoveries. The Ukrainian also won both his aerial duels.
Limiting his own forays forward, Zinchenko served up a calm, disciplined and well-focused display.
Zinchenko's defensive chalkboard
Gabriel Maghalaes was another who impressed, relishing his physical tussles with striker Carlton Morris.
Making several blocks, including this one (below) late on from Hashioka, the Brazilian’s fine form continued.
Getting the job done early
Almost all our best work was produced before the half-time interval.
There was a vibrancy to Mikel Arteta’s side in the first half as they moved the ball quickly and with purpose to create goal opportunities.
We regularly regained the ball in advanced areas with our pressing, and the fans enjoyed some confident flicks and tricks from Odegaard, Trossard and even Ben White.
The second 45 minutes was low key by comparison.
To their credit Luton Town shut down our space much better, disrupting our flow, meaning we had to wait until the 79th minute for our first shot of the second half.
At no stage though, did Arsenal ever lose full control of the game.
| Arsenal against Luton | First half | Second half |
| Shots | 11 | 2 |
| Touches in opposition box | 28 | 6 |
| Possession | 62.5% | 52.9% |
Rotation reenergises
The manager made five changes to his starting XI from one Premier League match to another for the first time since September 2021, and his refreshed line-up repaid his trust with a professional performance.
As well as new faces gaining valuable minutes that will sharpen up their match fitness for the run-in, the likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Jorginho also earned a well-needed rest.
As a team we ran a lengthy 120.67km against Luton Town.
That is high by Premier League standards and is way in advance of the distances we covered in our previous two games against Manchester City (112.09km) and Brentford (113.63km). From an athletic perspective it shows how much impact fresh legs can provide.
It was a calculated gamble to make so many alterations, but after seeing off the Hatters with ease it was a call that was well and truly vindicated.
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