If one is looking for signs of progress in the early months of the Unai Emery era, then look no further than Alex Iwobi's performance against Watford. As Robert Pires puts it, the young forward was the difference-maker for Arsenal – no small achievement for a player who last season struggled to make any impact at all.

When Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger it was reasonable to question whether Iwobi’s career at Arsenal had stalled. Lazio were waiting in the wings to snare the 22-year-old after 18 disappointing months and few would have criticised Emery if cashed in to top up his transfer funds.

Instead, one of Emery's first acts was to offer Iwobi a new five-year deal, both a statement of belief in the Hale End graduate’s prodigious skills and a gauntlet to the youngster, who would get the chances to prove his worth in cup competitions at the very least.

He has certainly risen to the challenge. With Aaron Ramsey likely to leave the club in the summer, Iwobi is perfectly placed to become a regular fixture under Emery.

For so long the demand from Arsenal to Iwobi has been simple and repetitive: more end product. Wenger demanded “10 goals and between six and 10 assists” from Iwobi last season, he finished with three and seven from 39 appearances.

Iwobi ought to beat those numbers this season with a run in a side. He has one goal and laid on a further two more in five appearances and missed out on a third assist when Craig Cathcart, not Alexandre Lacazette got the final touch on his cross for the opener on Saturday.

“I know just one thing, I told him after the game he made the difference,” Pires told Standard Sport. “He’s a great player, very fast.

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“He finds good solutions on the field with his vision. He has good mentality and spirit. Of course, he’s young but he’s learning very quickly.

“Arsenal with Alex Iwobi and Alex Iwobi with Arsenal have a good future.”

It is not only Pires who is seeing signs of progress in Iwobi, whose “mentality” was praised by Emery. For the player himself, the changes are physical as well as mental.

“I’m more positive and more confident with the ball,” Iwobi said after the win. “The boss has basically told me that if something doesn’t work, just keep going and don’t dwell on it.

“He’s told me to stop being so critical and to just keep trying no matter what happens, no matter if things don’t go as I want them to.

“That’s given me a lot more confidence to try a few more things, like beat a player, to shoot more. I’m always ready to get on the ball a bit more, so I guess it’s helped in that sense.

“I’ve lost a bit of weight because of the intense training and I think it’s made me a bit sharper.”

That intensity in training has been reflected by Iwobi’s own performances on the pitch, where he has rediscovered the proactivity that made him such a valuable addition to the Arsenal squad when he first burst onto the scene in early 2016.

Two years on, it feels like a long detour away from the right path may be coming to an end.