Arsenal picked up where they left off before the World Cup break with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Lyon on Thursday night, bringing some positivity after this week's news of forward Gabriel Jesus' surgery.
It was the perfect start to the Dubai Super Cup for the Gunners, who cruised to the win thanks to first half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira.
A penalty shootout was held at the end of the game with an extra point on offer and Arsenal won that as well, with keeper Karl Hein keeping out four Lyon penalties as the Gunners edged it 2-1.
Mikel Arteta would have been delighted with what he saw from his side, who were totally dominant in the first half and deservedly went in front when Gabriel powered home Martin Odegaard's corner.
Eddie Nketiah's finish from Fabio Vieira's pass then doubled the lead before Vieira made it three with a superb strike from outside the box which picked out the top corner.
Arteta changed his outfield XI completely in the second half, throwing on the Under-21s, and they performed well as they held on for the win against a far more experienced Lyon side and also came out on top in the penalty shootout.