Arsenal vs. Bolton: 5 Things We Learned at the Emirates

Rarely has a win against Bolton meant so much to Arsenal.

In fact, few matches in recent seasons have felt more important to the club.

Arsenal defeated Bolton 3-0 on Saturday in the Barclays Premier League, replicating a result (if not the exact scoreline) it has produced dozens of times over the years.

But as we all know very well, this is no normal year for Arsenal.

More than any other time during his illustrious career, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has withstood boiler-room pressure for much of the season as his Gunners have gotten off to their worst start in 58 years. A scoreless draw with Newcastle on opening day was followed by a loss to Liverpool and the debacle at Old Trafford.

After two underwhelming results—a win over Swansea and a disastrous defeat at Blackburn—Arsenal went into Saturday's match needing all three points, not so much for league positioning as for their value to the team's collective sanity.

So with three goals scored and three points in the bag, one can reasonably wonder: Is Arsenal back? Will Saturday serve as the turning point?

We won't know for a few months, but Saturday did teach us a few things about Wenger and his Gunners.

The first 45 minutes played out much the same way the entire season has so far for Arsenal. Bolton defended in numbers. Arsenal huffed, Arsenal puffed, goals were hard to find and the defense even managed to look shaky in the face of Bolton's toothless attack.

But the second half felt different. And it took only 38 seconds to see the results of the change.

Aaron Ramsey romped through the Bolton midfield after picking up the ball near the halfway line. He finally met resistance around the Bolton 18 and passed off to Robin van Persie, who promptly scored the first of two excellent goals in a true captain's performance.

The goal showed grit and determination, speed and skill. It didn't hurt that Ramsey and Arsenal took the initiative to press on with the attack while Gervinho lay on the ground after a clear Bolton foul.

In fact, the play provided the latest—and probably most gratifying—evidence that this is not the same Arsenal as before.

Other Arsenal teams might have stopped after the foul and whined about Bolton's hard-tackling approach or allowed the frustration to build.

This Arsenal team evolved.

This Arsenal team changed its tactics at halftime. After seeing Bolton deal with all of its narrow attacks in the first half, Arsenal shifted its focus to the flanks. There, Theo Walcott—and to a lesser extent, Gervinho—served as the key that unlocked the Bolton back line.

Walcott set up the second goal—van Persie's 100th for Arsenal—with his blistering run down the right flank. And his run from the flank to the middle drew the foul that earned David Wheater a red card, which effectively ended Bolton's challenge.

By the time Alex Song wrapped up the victory with a superb late strike, Wenger could be seen smiling on the Arsenal sideline, feeling genuine relief and satisfaction as his team neared what turned out to be an easy 3-0 victory over a poor Bolton side.

It's a long way from Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona, but it's also a long way from the the scowls and water-bottle abuse we've seen from the Frenchman in recent months.

But then, this is a different Arsenal than we've seen in some time.

1. It Was Still a Struggle for Arsenal

Considering the final scoreline, it's easy to forget how mightily Arsenal struggled in the first half Saturday against Bolton.

Put simply, after 45 minutes of frustration, Arsenal looked headed toward more Premiership disappointment.

As usual, Arsenal dominated possession. Mikel Arteta sprayed passes across the pitch. Bolton rarely saw the ball.

But Arsenal didn't create many chances.

Through the opening half, Arsenal tried to attack the Bolton goal head-on. But the narrow attacks proved useless against a well organized, tightly packed Bolton defense.

Arsenal struggled to find creative ways to break down the defense. Despite laying siege to the Bolton goal for the final minutes of the first half, the Gunners didn't really look capable of scoring.

The defense, meanwhile, experienced a few more nervous moments.

Bolton earned two free kicks in the early exchanges. Both threatened Arsenal's goal. Once again, the problem was Arsenal's frailty on set pieces.

Arsenal didn't concede, but the problems remained for all to see. Despite having almost all of the possession, Arsenal struggled to turn its dominance into goals.

To some extent, the same thing happened when Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri pulled the midfield strings. But this season, it seems that Arsenal struggles to find itself every time it plays.

That stayed true for 45 minutes Saturday. Despite the positive result, it's possible that Arsenal will experience similar frustration every time it takes the field.

2. Robin van Persie Showed His Worth

In the first half, Arsenal struggled.

In the second, Robin van Persie took over.

Others played better overall, and van Persie didn't necessarily play a starring role in the unlocking of Bolton's defense.

But as his team's new captain, he was there to inspire his teammates. And inspire he did.

His first goal settled Arsenal's nerves; his second made sure Bolton wouldn't come back. Both were well taken and gave Arsenal the boost it needed at exactly the right time.

The first came just 38 seconds into the second half. After a half of frustration, Arsenal needed a quick strike to calm their nerves.

Any other player probably would have missed from such a tight angle, but van Persie scored with relative ease thanks to his skillful left foot.

The second helped kill off the game after great work by Theo Walcott down the right flank. In the past (even as recently as last week), Arsenal might have allowed an equalizer, but van Persie again showed his value, this time by not trying to do too much with a difficult pass. Instead, he turned his left shin into a backboard off of which the ball banked into the net.

Those were the only two goals van Persie scored, but he troubled the Bolton defense throughout the second half until being substituted in the final minutes. His skill and hard work helped inspire his team to overcome its poor start—to the season and the game—and keep working for a solid win.

That's what a captain should do.

3. Mikel Arteta Has Been an Outstanding Addition

Mikel Arteta played well again.

His passing was incisive. His play was creative. He ran the show from the midfield.

In some ways, he was Arsenal's best performer.

And in some ways, he's filled the shoes of Cesc Fabregas.

It's impossible to compare the two because they're different players with different styles, but since signing from Everton at the transfer deadline, Arteta has done more to replace the loss of Fabregas than any other Arsenal player.

And he's been Arsenal's most consistent performer so far this season.

For now, Arteta is looking like another of Wenger's brilliant buys.

4. The Defense Still Has Work to Do

Arsenal kept its third clean sheet of the season Saturday.

After the carnage at Old Trafford and the meltdown at Ewood Park, that's almost impossible to believe.

But while the net result was positive Saturday, the performance wasn't always good.

Early in the first half, Bolton threatened Arsenal's goal with two set pieces in quick succession. Both times, Arsenal's defenders were caught ball-watching as Bolton's players worked themselves into threatening positions.

Arsenal's frailty against set pieces is nothing new, but to fans, it has to be getting old.

Fortunately, the defense settled down and kept Bolton quiet—apart from Kevin Davies' one-on-one in the second half—for the rest of the match.

New signing Per Mertesacker is improving with every game, and the eventual return of Thomas Vermaelen from injury will prove valuable.

Arsenal didn't concede Saturday, but it has to be acknowledged that Bolton was playing for a draw. Bolton failed to produce much offensively and after the sending-off, it rarely bothered to get forward.

5. Arsene Wenger Can Still Smile

Towards the end of the match, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was visibly enjoying himself.

With his team up 3-0, Wenger actually cracked a smile. After all that's happened to him and his club over the last few months, that was nice to see.

There's still work to be done, and the injury of Theo Walcott will cause some worrying, but Saturday served as a welcome relief for Arsenal and Wenger.

Down the line, it could even become a turning point, but for now, we'll have to let it be what it was:

A nice day for Arsenal—its first in quite some time.