Gary Neville says Arsenal’s north London derby win over Tottenham on Saturday is the ‘best he has seen them’ and has hailed the performance of every player.
The Gunners went into the game as underdogs having been relentlessly told that there had been a shift in the balance of power in north London in recent years.
However, they turned in an inspired performance against their fierce rivals with goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez earning a first Premier League win over Spurs since March 2014.
The win puts Arsene Wenger’s side just a point behind Mauricio Pochettino’s, and Neville has praised their performance from the first man to the last.
"I didn't think Arsenal would lose before the game being honest because I think after international duty, to go away from home at 12.30pm, is not easy,” the former Manchester United man told Sky Sports.
"But that's as good as I've seen Arsenal, it really is. I wondered after ten minutes would they be able to keep it up? Is it just a bold start that would fizzle out?
“But it was a really, really good performance. Overall my assessment of the game today was Arsenal were absolutely fantastic from number one to 11. There wasn't a poor performer.”
While the whole side impressed Neville, he was particularly complimentary of their star front three.
Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have been taking heavy criticism this season, with their contract situations still up in the air, while record signing Alexandre Lacazette has been benched for the biggest games so far since joining.
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Starting together, in arguably the biggest game of the season at Emirates Stadium, Neville says they impressed from start to finish.
“Graeme Souness this morning said what Arsenal will turn up probably referring to those three. They turned up.
"From minute one, they pressed onto that Tottenham back three, made them anxious and made them nervous. A very good back three as well by the way.
“I have to say I thought the intent from that front three, supported well and sustained by Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey, won them the game in terms of setting the tone.
"If you think about the teams I played in and you'll have seen it yourself over the years, when the best players in the team are setting the tone and working hard and making challenges the rest of you follow and come with you.
"They are leaders by their price tag, their reputation and their skill. They've not always been leaders by their work ethic and their attitude.
"Maybe that's a bit unkind on Lacazette but the other two have definitely fallen below standards at times in the last 12 to 18 months.
"Today they were fantastic and I couldn't speak highly enough about Sanchez. He's a brilliant player. I thought Lacazette's positions were sensational and caused real problems for Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen in terms of tying them back."
James Benge's derby day analysis from Emirates Stadium