THE NOTEBOOK: Mikel Arteta celebrates his belated birthday with an emphatic victory over Leeds

Arsenal restored their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table on Saturday with a resounding 4-1 win over Leeds at the Emirates.

Gabriel Jesus marked his first Premier League start since undergoing surgery after being injured at the World Cup with two goals to help put Leeds on the ropes.

Bukayo Saka was relegated to the bench for the first time in the English top flight in over 400 days after illness kept him from starting, but Arsenal managed without him in the line-up to prove their title credentials against a dejected Leeds .

Arsenal also excelled defensively without William Saliba, as Rob Holding showed that the Frenchman’s absence can be relied on.

Here, sports mail James St Denis goes over some of the aspects of the match that you may have missed.

Birthday delight for Arteta

It was Mikel Arteta’s 41st birthday during the international break, and the Spaniard was kind enough to treat journalists who attended his pre-match press conference with cupcakes to celebrate the occasion.

And despite a difficult opening half-hour, the Arsenal manager was given a birthday present when his side came out and produced another outstanding display to sideline a lacking Leeds team.

a welcome return to Premier League football for the Gunners and their manager

Leeds continue to send goals in north London. For 32 minutes, Leeds looked like a team capable of withstanding the quality of Arsenal and getting a stunning result at the Emirates. Luke Ayling then decided to take Leeds’ capitulation into his own hands, conceding an unnecessary penalty that got the ball rolling for Arsenal’s goal machine.

Three subsequent second half goals followed and the Lilywhites left north London pointless. Javi Gracia’s men have now gone 14 consecutive games without a clean sheet in the league away to Arsenal, conceding 35 goals in the process and losing eleven times.

Seven skies for Arteta Arsenal were on a six-game winning streak going into this match at the Emirates, the longest joint winning streak with Mikel Arteta since the Spaniard took over in December 2019.

Today’s victory confirmed his seventh consecutive league victory with the Spaniard, the first time the Gunners have achieved such a feat during his tenure.

The last time Arsenal won seven league games in a row was between August and October 2018 under now Aston Villa manager Unai Emery.

Trossard proves his worth again

With Bukayo Saka the talk of the town after his performances in England, Leandro Trossard’s orderly form for the Gunners since his arrival seemed to be pushed out of the spotlight.

But with illness seeing Saka only fit enough for the bench, it was Trossard who got the call to start.

The Belgian striker initially struggled to assert himself on Arsenal’s right-hand side, but looked much more comfortable as he returned to his favored position on the left.

The change proved effective as Trossard notched his seventh assist for Arsenal since joining the club from Brighton in January, and his tenth overall in the league.

Endurance fills the void for injured Saliba

Over the past two seasons, Rob Holding’s role in this Arsenal squad has been nothing more than being Arteta’s trusted substitute in the last 10-15 minutes of games to see off the Gunners.

Now, with William Saliba ruled out indefinitely, Arteta has relied on the 27-year-old to fill the void left by the Frenchman.

After a rocky start, the Bolton native stayed fired up and ensured his team took another priceless win.

Jesus back in the goals

It’s been a tough couple of months for Gabriel Jesus. A knee injury during the World Cup put his season on hold until further notice, but even before that, the Brazilian was struggling to find the back of the net for Arsenal.

Already in top form and back in the team, the striker’s penalty in the 33rd minute ended a streak of 17 games without scoring for club and national team, the penalty being his first goal since October 1, six months ago.

The 25-year-old followed with a low shot to the corner in the 55th minute for his second of the game, before being substituted just afterwards.