Arsenal were already a very good side; Declan Rice could make them a great one. The Gunners went all out to get the England midfielder in the summer, doing all the groundwork and then outbidding Manchester City to get their man. And on early impressions, it was worth every sinew of energy, and every penny of his £105 million ($132m) transfer fee.
Rice was dominant for Arsenal in Sunday's thriller against Manchester United, and when push came to shove it was the club-record signing who came to the fore and grabbed the crucial goal in the eventual 3-1 win. It was not the best goal Rice has ever scored, taking a big deflection off Jonny Evans and flummoxing the otherwise excellent Andre Onana, but it is among the most important strikes of the 24-year-old's career.
Arsenal were in danger of losing to United despite dominating the first half, with VAR needing to intervene to prevent Alejandro Garnacho putting the impressive visitors back in front late in the game. But Rice, who had had the better of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes for much of this gripping encounter, pulled Arsenal back in front in the 96th minute, before Gabriel Jesus made sure of the points.
It was a huge victory for Arsenal, who have 10 points from their opening four games, and will give them belief that they can catch early front-runners City, who chased them down last season. United, meanwhile, were left cursing their dreadful away form once more and left even more concerned by an alarmingly long injury list.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Emirates Stadium...