Aston Villa boss Dean Smith feels his players are meeting expectations after victory at Arsenal.
The result has Villa sitting in seventh place on the Premier League table.
Smith said, "We set the tone from the off - the ball went out for a throw-in and we showed intensity and that we were going to press them. From that throw-in we won the ball back and John McGinn scored a great goal which got chalked off.
"A big win at Leicester winning 1-0, it's a tough league so wherever you go it's tough. Coming here is tough, we knew we had to be at our best without the ball. That's what pleased me the most and we could've scored more. We created some great chances from our ball carrying skills with Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley and Trezequet and Ollie Watkins' non-stop running.
"We weren't satisfied with how last season ended, we finished 17th - we know that first season is always tough. We've added some quality to the squad, five players have come in which makes us look a strong team - we're competitive and that's where we want to be. You have to be in this league because it's tough as we found out against Southampton and Leeds before this game.
"I think good players always click, they get on a wavelength quickly and they look like they're on that wavelength together. You can't underestimate the work they do off the ball as well.
"We have to take each game as it comes and that's all we can do and want to do. We won our first four of the season and got our first bloody nose against Leeds so it can happen if you're not at it and the players know it that you have to be at it right from the off."
