Arsenal 2-1 Udinese: 5 Things We Learned from the Gunners' Win in Italy

Arsenal sealed a tense Champions League qualifier victory at the Stadio Friuli, thanks to goals from Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie. This means that the Gunners' will be playing in the Champions League group stage for a 14th consecutive season, and critics will be silenced... for now.

After Di Natale's header put the Italians ahead at halftime, Arsenal no longer had the upper hand in the tie. They had their work cut out for them, and the breakthrough came in the 55th minute, when some superb dribbling and a well-placed pass by Gervinho was calmly finished by Robin van Persie.

A few minutes later, the referee called a controversial penalty against Arsenal after Thomas Vermaelen apparently committed a handball in the box. A reply later indicated that ref had made a good call.

However, Wojciech Szczesny made a brilliant save to turn Di Natale's penalty over the bar. This was the real turning point in the match, as a goal for Udinese would have meant a completely different match.

Theo Walcott and Bacary Sagna combined in the 69th minute to put Walcott through on goal, and the England international had no trouble finishing it past Samir Handanovic.

After this impressive performance by the Gunners, here are five things we learned from the crucial victory in Italy.

Theo Walcott Can Score Goals Without Cesc Fabregas

After the departure of Cesc Fabregas, many predicted that Theo Walcott would indirectly be affected by the transfer. They thought that Walcott relied on the Spaniard to give him perfect through balls, and that without Fabregas, Walcott would have a tough time finding the net.

But the 22-year-old has taken no time to prove skeptics wrong, scoring two goals in four matches so far this season. Being one of the fastest players in the world, Walcott gives Arsenal an edge, and his ability to beat almost any defender to the ball means that the Englishman will continue to hit the net.

Walcott had a great 2010-11 season, but so far, he is stepping up his game to the next level, and the 2011-12 season could be a big one for the youngster.

Arsenal Won't Need to Spend a Penny on a Keeper for a Long Time

Amid a goalkeeping crisis last season, Wojciech Szczesny emerged as Arsenal's only option to stand in between the stick—and he thrived.

Since making his debut in the Arsenal first team, Szczesny has never looked back, and is now comfortably Arsenal's first choice keeper. He was the hero against Udinese, as his penalty save gave the Gunners a "get out of jail free card," and had he not made that stop, the scoreline could've been completely different.

Szczesny is an excellent shot stopper, and at 6'5", he can reach just about any shot on time. He's very good at grabbing crosses out of the air with a strong, solid presence in the box. Although his distribution wasn't top notch last season, it's improved immensely over the summer.

At the young age of 21, Wojciech Szczesny has his whole career ahead of him, and Arsenal seem to have landed a real gem...

Carl Jenkinson Was a Fantastic Buy

When Arsene Wenger bought Carl Jenkinson from Charlton Athletic, everyone knew what the deal was: Jenkinson's just another unknown youngster bought by Wenger.

After regularly featuring in preseason friendlies and getting more first team action than we would've expected due to an injury crisis, the versatile full back has been fairly impressive. I won't get carried away; he's not exactly the hottest young prospect in the world, but at 19 years old, Jenkinson has held his own against the likes of Liverpool, and tonight, Udinese. His defending has only been improving, while his contributions on attack are almost always effective.

For only a million pounds, Carl Jenkinson could turn out to be a real bargain, and is very likely the future of the Arsenal defense.

Arsenal Don't Rely on Fabregas and Nasri as Much as We Thought They Did

Arsenal's 2-1 win against Udinese was their first match with Fabregas and Nasri officially not Arsenal players.

And did all hell break loose?

No. As a matter of fact, this match was by far the Gunners' sharpest performance so far this season.

Arsenal created chance after chance, as they continued to play their fluid football just as they always have. Gervinho and Walcott were both looking very dangerous on the wings, while Emmanuel Frimpong and Alex Song did a fine job holding up opposing attacks in the midfield. And as always, Robin van Persie's left foot is looking as menacing as ever.

So all of a sudden, this whole "exodus" isn't so bad after all. Arsenal now have a squad where every player on the pitch wants to be there, and is proud to be wearing red and white. The negative attitudes are gone, and it seems the new era in North London has gotten off to a good start.

If Arsenal can put in performances like this one consistently until May, their season will be a lot better than everyone's cutting it out to be.

Everyone Overreacted—Arsenal Won't Be Crumbling Any Time Soon

This one goes hand in hand with the last slide.

After Arsenal's humiliating 2-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, things were looking pretty bleak for the Gunners, and all of a sudden, this season "destined for disaster" was sadly starting to live up to it's expectations. The crumbling of Arsenal was beginning...

But now, fortunately, it's looking like everyone overreacted. Udinese are a very strong team, and the fact that Arsenal travelled all the way to Italy and produced such a good result is a very promising sign for the Gunners. The North London outfit played very well, especially considering their opposition was of the same caliber as a quality top half Premiership club.

Sorry, Spurs fans, but Arsenal won't be crumbling any time soon...