Arsenal kicked off the 2020/21 Premier League season away to Fulham and what an opening game it was for the Gunners. All eyes were on the north London giants and whether they could maintain their impressive 2019/20 end-of-season run. All we can say is Arteta's side did not disappoint.
It took the English giants only eight minutes to get off the mark, with Lacazette breaking the deadlock after profiting off a fortunate Willian assist. The Brazilian winger, making his debut on Matchday 1 after leaving Chelsea for Arsenal, was involved in the second goal as well, which came right after half-time.
The South American ace set-up fellow Brazilian and fellow debutant Gabriel from a corner kick to double the visitors' lead. Then came the third and final goal in the 57th minute, scored by Aubameyang and created by – you guessed it – Willian, completing his hat-trick of assists. The 32-year-old summer signing was substituted off in the 76th minute but he had done enough to steal the headlines.
Registering three assists less than an hour into your debut is an impressive feat. To put this into context, Mesut Ozil, the most gifted creative player in Arsenal's rank, managed only two assists in the entirety of the 2019/20 Premier League season. On top of that, Willian marked an incredible feat, becoming the first player since the iconic Ray Parlour way back in 1992 to set up two or more goals in his Arsenal debut.
This performance won the Internet, with fans flocking to Twitter to lavish the Brazilian with praise. Even Parlour himself made sure to highlight the 32-year-old brilliant display on social media. Check out the best tweets below.
Just the assists for Willian in the first 57 minutes of his debut... #FULARS pic.twitter.com/s5VymGDjld
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 12, 2020
Willian would go on to complete his hat-trick of assists
2 - Willian is the first player to assist two goals on his Premier League debut for Arsenal since @RealRomfordPele in August 1992 against Liverpool. Provider. #FULARS pic.twitter.com/7RYsFaHRgn
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 12, 2020
Willian on his debut
— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) September 12, 2020
Minutes - 55
Assists - 3
Ozil the last two seasons
Games - 42
Assists - 4
There's a new playmaker in town pic.twitter.com/CAqO1XjbD1
@Arsenal debuts, samba style
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) September 12, 2020
@biel_m04 gets a goal. @willianborges88 gets two assists. The Gunners look a force to be reckoned with in the @premierleague pic.twitter.com/2yEscmOGaf
Fantastic performance by Arsenal. PERFECT way to start the season. Much bigger tests tests to come, but lots of encouragement in terms of our intensity and combination play. Great debuts for Willian and Gabriel. Onwards.
— LTArsenal™ (@ltarsenal) September 12, 2020
Assist
— SPORF (@Sporf) September 12, 2020
Assist
Assist
@WillianBorges88 turned into prime @10Ronaldinho in his @Arsenal debut! pic.twitter.com/H91Dfro37c
Willian's Arsenal debut by numbers:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 12, 2020
96% pass accuracy
7 final ⅓ entries
5 penalty area entries
5 ball recoveries
4 crosses
3 chances created
2 shots
2 fouls won
2 assists
The perfect start. pic.twitter.com/39g08emHbf
Good 3 points for the @Arsenal warm up for my wine Mrs won't be happy nicking her Prosecco pic.twitter.com/iVIvtEQjRo
— Ray Parlour (@RealRomfordPele) September 12, 2020