It's amazing what a bit of fun in the Dubai sun can do, isn't it? Since the mini winter break that Arsenal had after a disappointing FA Cup exit at the hands of title rivals Liverpool they have significantly bucked up their ideas.
It all began with a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace before a rather more edgier victory over Nottingham Forest. There was then revenge over Jurgen Klopp's side before their scintillating form culminated with a 6-0 romp over West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Declan Rice was the beating heart of that result, assisting two goals in the opening half and then scoring a long-range howitzer that left his teammates in absolute shock.
For Hammers fans still inside the stadium, it's likely they were left shocked too, particularly after spending the majority of the opening half booing him. In typical Rice fashion, he shut them up with a dominating performance.
That said, he wasn't the only one in fluorescent colours to shine at the London Stadium, far from it. The other goalscorers include Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel, although it's the scorer of the fourth – Leandro Trossard – that we'd like to spend some time focusing on.
Leandro Trossard's performance v West Ham
The Belgian has been a superb signing since arriving from Brighton just over a year ago.
Trossard signed on the dotted line after the Gunners paid an initial £21m fee. That is a pure bargain, particularly when you consider the attacker's performances after being snapped up in January 2023.
He ended the second half of the Premier League term in 2022/23 with ten assists in 20 outings for Arsenal but this campaign the 29-year-old has become more clinical in the final third.
Only two assists have fallen the way of the former Brighton man, although he has found the net on nine occasions in 28 outings, with three of those strikes coming in his last four appearances. This is a real purple patch for Trossard who arguably saved his finest performance of the season to date for West Ham over the weekend.
Playing in a 'false 9' role he often dropped deep too. He and Kai Havertz interchanged positions with the latter often moving further forward in possession while Trossard dropped deeper. In possession, it was the Belgium international who moved onto the shoulder of the final man.
We saw the best of that towards the end of the half. Occupying a deeper position on the field, he played a wonderful ball in behind for Saka to pounce upon before he was brought down for a penalty by Alphonse Areola. Moments later it was the ex-Genk attacker who found himself inside the area. Fed by Martin Odegaard, a touch was taken to steady himself before finding the top corner.
All in all, this was a menacing performance from the diminutive forward who has now well and truly staked his claim for a centre-forward position if Gabriel Jesus is injured. That, however, is bad news for a certain Eddie Nketiah.
What Trossard's form means for Eddie Nketiah
The aforementioned Jesus has missed a great deal of football since signing for Arsenal from Manchester City.
Last season the Brazilian missed 17 matches for club and country with a knee issue and in 2023/24 he has now been absent for 11 games and counting. The latest of those two games was against Liverpool and then West Ham.
It was Havertz who performed so admirably in his stead against the Reds, hailed as a "handful" by Ray Parlour in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.
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The German played a key part in Saka's opener on the day and led the line in a physical way rarely seen from an Arsenal forward over the last few seasons. Combine that display with Trossard's magical performance in Stratford yesterday and it doesn't look good for Nketiah.
With Jesus injured last season, the English striker was the man preferred but it looks as though Mikel Arteta is losing patience with him.
Since scoring a hat-trick against Sheffield United back in October the 24-year-old has failed to score a single league goal. He's also now struggling for any semblance of regular minutes.
Nketiah didn't appear off the bench at all against Liverpool and has started only once in the league since early November.
The Hale End graduate clearly works hard and is a threat in behind but unlike Trossard, who can operate in tight spaces, and Havertz, a physical specimen, he isn't multi-faceted.
With the way Arsenal play in attack they need a striker capable of bringing others into play and it's evident Arteta doesn't think Nketiah can do that. This West Ham game would usually be one he is fielded in with Jesus absent but the former Leeds loanee was ignored on this occasion. That was, at least, until the final 20 minutes of the game where – to his credit – he did complete 100% of his passes.
That being said, it would be a surprise if we saw the England international as a regular in this side again. Indeed, with a summer fast approaching in which the Gunners are expected to sign a new striker, Nketiah may no longer have a future at the club.