This rather pointless match between Arsenal and Qarabag had very little going for it, with the Azerbaijani side nailed to the bottom of Europa League group E and Arsenal comfortably through, without all the usual drama that ensues.

It was never going to be a spectacle with Qarabag appearing to be generally demotivated and unenthusiastic about the task ahead, against an Arsenal side that had been subjected to major changes.

Ozil and Koscielny were back after injury and there were the additions of Arsenal’s future, in the form of Bukayo Saka, Chris Willock, Eddie Nketiah and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who are growing in stature with every appearance and opportunity.

The game itself was a painful affair for the most part, difficult to extract any pleasure from and on a cold evening, hard to discover any level of excitement to generate body heat. Apart from Mesut Ozil, who showed genuine class on the ball and provided the only goal of the game after 17 minutes.

Nketiah’s outstretched leg pinched the ball and he fed Ozil, who sprinted forward into the box. The German’s exquisite touch fed Lacazette who added a powerful finish to thump the final nail in Qarabag’s Europa League coffin. The Emirates looked bare, with sizeable holes in the crowd. It was said that 58,000 tickets had been sold but either there was something good on the Telly or it was too cold for the majority to come out in support of the Champions League’s poor distant cousin.

It’s more likely the time of year with many fans having to spread the cost of the festive season, cherry picking the cluster of games ahead or it may be that the Europa league has significantly less appeal than the Champions league. Yet, Emery, to his credit, affords it with the same attention to detail as the Champions League, having won it three consecutive seasons in a row with Sevilla.

Despite questions regarding the competition’s credibility, if Arsenal were to win it in Emery’s first season, it will be a stroke of genius but it’s from this point on where the hard work starts. There are bigger and tougher games ahead that will stretch Arsenal’s resources to the max and test their desire and mentality. It was a night for the academy players to stake a claim for a first team slot and with the fixtures arriving thick and fast, a few will be given the chance.

Saka is certainly up there with any of the young prospects and both he and Nketiah could have appeared on the scoresheet but almost certainly, they will have better days. Nketiah had a goal ruled offside, which was a pity but his natural desire will see him come good in the future.

Willock gave a good account of himself, waspishly gathering up any wayward balls and snapping at heels when the opportunity came. Maitland-Niles was confident and assured and looked extremely good on his forays into the oppositions half but it would be nice to see him in the midfield occasionally to show his full quota of talent.

In fact, the academy players that Arsenal have invested time and money in could be regarded in the same way as the United side that contained Beckham, Scholes, the Neville’s and Giggs. That’s how good the potential is. The game was one in which the mind often drifted, looking for things to occupy itself and there were sloppy, careless and uneventful periods that made the game difficult to enjoy.

The fact that Qarabag were so unenthusiastic about this game, made Arsenal’s job easier and with the space, they were afforded, they should have plundered more than just a single goal. Yet, in the final analysis, this campaign has been a resounding success and hasn’t involved all the usual qualification drama. One suspects that had Qarabag managed to get back on terms, then Arsenal would have been forced to do more.

However, the multiple changes in personnel did impact on the flow and style of their football. It was almost as if the team was suffering a degree of jet lag, as the natural fabric was lost but as the game went on, it got better. Of course, this disruption and the surrendered space gave Ozil the opportunity to show off his collection of passes, that were three or four levels above what everyone else was playing.

This bodes well for a busy December and particularly, the tricky encounter against Southampton, who one suspects, will have more appetite for a scrap as they try to avoid the relegation vortex.

Sometimes it takes one exquisite moment of brilliance to change a game. One superb bit of skill to wipe away the memory of a bitty, scrappy affair and to claim the valuable three points.

That moment arrived in the 83rd minute when Aubameyang was thwarted in his attempt at goal but he still managed to retrieve the ball and had the presence of mind to lob it over the scrambling and dismantled Huddersfield defence for the excellent Lucas Torreira to add an acrobatic finish.

There were sighs of relief, and a tidal wave of praise for the diminutive midfielder as Arsenal sailed into 3rd spot in the premiership. Huddersfield were determined to get something but the fact was that this new cult hero did a job when all looked lost.

It was an incredibly sloppy affair and it seemed that the North Londoners footballing telepathy was in need of urgent repair but in a match, featuring injury, simulation and a series of yellow cards, any chance of momentum was remote. The disrupted nature of this encounter resulted in 6 minutes of added time.

Arsenal were so out of salts that they resorted to long ball tactics, which goes against the very nature of their football philosophy and the chances that fell to their two hot shots were wasted. Aubameyang seemed slightly at odds with himself and could easily have added to his tally of 10 goals and Lacazette blazed one over from 12 yards after an untimely slip.

Huddersfield for all their endeavour were toothless in front of goal and unless that is swiftly resolved in January, the inevitable drop will follow. Like Arsenal they had chances but even if the goalkeeper had taken an early bath and the goal had been twice the size, they seemed unlikely to score.

The main offender for the Gunners was Granit Xhaka, who seemed incapable of finding a red and white shirt, so much so, that some joker in the crowd recommended an urgent visit to Specsavers. Lacazette had a goal disallowed for offside and from where I was, the decision looked dubious, to say the least. Technicalities will be the death of football, yet there is still a firm reluctance to use VAR regularly.

Huddersfield’s best chances fell to Pritchard who scuffed and fluffed each one that came his way, the worst example was scoping the ball over a grateful Arsenal crossbar. Such was the impasse, that it was inevitable that Emery would make a change and on came Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi replacing Lacazette and Stephan Lichtsteiner.

The two subs added a new impetus, never far apart as they pressed forward in search of the elusive goal. David Wagner must be very concerned about his sides Premier League status and it’s well known that few of those in the bottom three in December escape the drop.

For Emery, it’s a defensive jigsaw that is becoming something of a crisis. The casualty list grows by the day and his options are limited, making it ever more likely that Arsenal will have to reinforce despite indications of a genuine reluctance at board level. If Arsenal manages to continue their current run and emerge from December in reasonably good shape, new additions are crucial to make the final push in the new year.

Either that or fringe players may need to be pushed into the spotlight as a matter of necessity. Koscielny made a return to the subs bench but Emery will have to tread very carefully to avoid further damage to the player after such a serious injury and lengthy lay off.

For those about to rip into Arsenal for their fluctuating form, they have played 4 games in 10 days. The games against Spurs and United must have drained the intensity tanks during a spell where the squad has become smaller through injuries. It may be a very patched up defence for the game against Southampton and Arsenal will now have to limp towards the transfer window, whilst considering a hefty spending programme to maintain their push for a champions league slot.