Talk about arriving on the scene as an Arsenal player.
Eberechi Eze did it in style with his hat-trick against Tottenham – and for him everything will never be the same.
We already knew that Eze was super talented from his time at Crystal Palace and he has made a good start to his Arsenal career, showing flashes of brilliance.
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But the biggest test at a club as big as Arsenal is the big games, so Sunday's 4-1 north London derby win was the perfect opportunity for him to put his best foot forward in a Gunners shirt.
Eze is, of course, an Arsenal fan too, which made his day even more special. He became the first player to score a hat-trick in this game since 1978, and he actually made it look easy.
As I said on Match of the Day, he was a joy to watch and has a great ability to make the game incredibly easy.
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His performance on all three goals was excellent, as was his skill, his movement and ability to find space. He is two-footed and the fact that he is comfortable on both sides means he is elegant and a great ball handler.
Eze was brought in to unlock the deep defense as Spurs did and he demonstrated every aspect of his game.
After a performance like that, he'll feel like he's walking on air for the next few days, but the fact that he did it in this match will mean things will be different for him going forward.
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“Eze will feel like he can try anything.”
I know from experience that there are games in which if you are the player who makes the difference, the fans will never forget it.
I had been a Liverpool player for over three years when I scored my first winning goal for them against Manchester United in 2000. I was used to people asking me for autographs and people talking to me, but that goal against our biggest rivals suddenly took everything to another level.
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Now I was the player who scored that goal for us and against them. It was like people saw me differently and of course thought more highly of me because I gave them this joy in a match that meant so much to them.
The same will happen to Eze now and the immediate effect of his hat-trick will be that in the next few games he will be so confident in himself that he will feel like he can try anything because he can do no wrong.
Whenever he next takes to the pitch, be it against Bayern in the Champions League on Wednesday or against Chelsea in the Premier League next weekend, he will feel that the fans are behind him 100% because they adore him now more than ever.
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The same thing will happen every time he has the ball. You know the fans love you and it shows in your performance. You're thinking, “Give me the ball, what do I do next?” The feeling is amazing and he will want to express himself and show the world how good he is.
That's the hype you get and it applies to any player scoring a hat-trick in a game of this magnitude, but it always means a little more when you're rooting for the team you're doing it for – it really does.
You feel the warmth from the fans, which is very difficult to get if you don't know it yourself from childhood.
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I was at Old Trafford as a Liverpool fan watching them play there, so I knew what beating United meant to our fans, just as Eze would know what beating Spurs meant to Arsenal fans.
What he did on Sunday will stay with him forever and the fans will know he got it too.
So he's going to have an incredible few weeks. The only slight danger when something like this happens is that you get carried away and start thinking you're really amazing and in games something just happens to you – that doesn't happen!
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But Eze is such a humble guy that he would never have thought that. His work ethic shows the kind of attitude he has: against Spurs he was still chasing players back into his own half from a corner even after scoring a hat-trick.
There are some players that I'm watching right now and I really want to do well, whoever they play as, because they are very likable characters – and Eze is one of them.
He worked his way up to becoming an Arsenal and England player at the age of 27, and his story being published by Arsenal's academy at the age of 13 makes it even more incredible.
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Eze is the type of player Arteta can rely on. He is creative, confident and a game changer. I called him a 'wow footballer' on Match of the Day because I really care about him and I'm also looking forward to what's next for him.
The only dilemma for Arsenal is that they have Martin Odegaard and Eze, who can both play as great Nos.
Who does Arteta choose? This is a big problem.
Only Erling Haaland (25), Mohamed Salah (23) and Brian Mbeumo (21) have scored more Premier League goals in the 2025–26 season than Eberechi Eze. [BBC]
Competition has improved performance
If things had gone differently in the summer, Eze could have played against Arsenal on Sunday rather than playing for them.
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What probably makes the defeat even more painful for Spurs is that the player they were trying to sign ended up scoring a hat-trick for them.
But Eze's achievement was just the icing on the cake for Arteta's side as their entire team put in an outstanding performance.
Mikel Merino again played out of the centre-forward position but caused Spurs so many problems. Jurrien Timber's performances at right-back have been as good as I've seen from anyone in that position for a long time – he is now discussed with the likes of Achraf Hakimi as one of the best in the world.
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We've already seen Christian Mosquera replace William Saliba and replace him without any problems, and now we've seen Piero Jincapie replace Gabriel and look dominant as well.
When Arsenal signed Mosquera and Hincapie in the summer, we talked about how they had increased their depth on paper, but even now we can see the strength of their team on the pitch. This created competition for places which increased everyone's performance.
“Ominous to Everyone Else”
Arteta must be pleased to see what level his players are at, not only in terms of their technical ability, but also in terms of fitness and work rate.
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They are all willing to give everything because they know that if they don't they won't play – and for that Arteta deserves huge credit. He created a mindset that hard work was just as important as attacking play, if not more so.
They don't carry anyone, and even up front, Victor Giokeres, who missed the Spurs game through injury, epitomizes their approach to pressing.
You know, it doesn't matter who's playing, they're all going to defend. This obviously requires mental discipline, but physically they look ready too.
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Every aspect of their game is exactly where it should be and they look full of faith in what they are doing.
What's most impressive to me is that even if they have an off day with the ball, it doesn't look like they'll ever have an off day without the ball.
They look like a powerful team, a team that is focused on winning games and desperate to end their recent years of second place in the Premier League.
The way they're playing at the moment is ominous for everyone else because it's hard to see how anyone is going to challenge them.
Danny Murphy spoke to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
