If things couldn't have gone much worse for Arsenal against Sporting CP on Thursday night, they couldn't have gone much better in the opening 45 minutes against Crystal Palace, and they had Mikel Arteta's defensive approach to thank.
The penalty shoot-out defeat in the Europa League was a painful one, not least for Gabriel Martinelli. However, the Brazilian laid some demons to rest after his penalty miss as he showed quick footwork to find space and fire the opening goal beyond Joe Whitworth.
Even if the Gunners expected Martinelli to be unfazed, though, the loss of defenders William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu to injury was more concerning. Once again, though manager Arteta knew how to deal with the issue, paving the way for what turned into a comfortable win.
In his pre-match programme notes, captain Martin Odegaard had warned of Palace's threat on the break. "Especially up front, they have some individuals who can turn games and create problems for any team," he wrote.
"Players like Zaha and Eze of course, but plenty of others too. They're a team that can be dangerous on the counter, so we need to be ready for that. They always give us a good test."
It is understandable, then, that Arsenal were hopeful of using Saliba's recovery pace. However, with the Frenchman missing and Tomiyasu unable to step in as cover, Rob Holding was thrown in at the deep end.
The change might have made Arsenal flimsy at the back, or at the very least it might have hampered the attacking threat of their full-backs. Instead, neither was the case.
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Despite the threat of Zaha being highlighted pre-match, the Ivorian was still able to fashion the visitors' best early chance as he found space down the left and struck the foot of the post. Rather than forcing White to stay deep, though, it prompted the home side to get their right-back forward at every opportunity to find the gaps vacated by Palace's number 11.
Instead of adopting a safety-first approach, Arteta clearly had a contingency plan in place. Whenever White broke forward, left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko (or, less frequently, Granit Xhaka) dropped in as a third centre-back. It was a way to add an extra attacking outlet without being more susceptible on the counter, and it worked a charm.
The early scare also prompted a long conversation between the manager and his players, after which Holding made a point of getting tight on Edouard at every opportunity. The former Celtic striker barely had a sniff, save for a one-on-one which was eventually called back for offside.
Palace did get themselves on the board eventually, but Jeffrey Schlupp's scrappy effort owed more to the home side switching off from a set-piece. There was even time for Arsenal to attack from the left-back position, with Tierney laying on Bukayo Saka's second - and the hosts' fourth.
A home game against a team on a long winless run is hardly the toughest game Arsenal will face in the run-in, but they'll take solace in the fact that they can win without some key men. Especially after recent comments from Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag about their apparent luck with injuries.
Arsenal will no doubt want Saliba back as soon as possible, given his importance to the side this term. However, Arteta will be very happy to see his plan work exactly how he'd have wanted it to.
