Arsenal attacker Leandro Trossard earned a slice of Premier League history as the Gunners stormed to a 3-0 win over Fulham in Sunday's London derby.
Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table in style, as Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Odegaard struck inside the opening 45 minutes.
Prior to the game, Mikel Arteta had ruled Trossard out of the match due to the groin injury that he sustained in last weekend's 3-2 win over Bournemouth, but that was seemingly just mind games from the Gunners boss as Trossard was named in the first XI.
The Belgian attacker, who has hit the ground running at Arsenal, did not get in on the act himself at Craven Cottage, but he provided all three assists during the Gunners' first-half assault.
Firstly providing the corner for Gabriel to head home, Trossard's second cross found the head of Martinelli before Odegaard latched onto another ball from the Belgian to find the bottom corner.
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In doing so, Trossard became the first-ever Premier League player to assist three goals in the first half of an away game, but the ex-Brighton & Hove Albion man stressed that his side now have "11 finals" coming up in their title bid.
"When we win we're always happy. We knew it would be a tough game. We did really well. We kept a clean sheet as well," Trossard told Sky Sports News.
"A perfect win for us. I'm really happy with it [hat-trick of assists]. I always try to contribute. Today it went my way. I'm just really happy we won. Same as last week. Eleven finals for us. We'll take it game by game. Today we did a great game."
Trossard was not Arsenal's first-choice for an attacking acquisition in January, as the Gunners turned their attention to the 28-year-old after missing out on the signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea.
However, Trossard has hit the ground running in North London with one goal and five assists in 10 games, and Odegaard was equally delighted to be sharing the field with the Belgium international.
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"He [Leandro Trossard] has brought some amazing things to the team. I love playing with him. He's good to find the right pass. We're really happy to have him on the team," Odegaard added.
"It was a good ball from Leo over the head of a defender. I kept my composure and put my shot in the corner. We did really well from the start. We controlled the game and scored some good goals in the first half. The second half was a bit different but very good."
As well as Trossard's piece of personal history, Arsenal became the first team to ever win five successive London derbies away from home with five clean sheets in the English Football League.
A near-perfect afternoon for Arteta was made even better with the return of Gabriel Jesus, who provided a bright spark off the bench in his first Premier League appearance since before the World Cup.
Arsenal now turn their attention to Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg against Sporting Lisbon, having rescued a 2-2 draw at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in last week's first leg.
Ben Knapton
