Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was delighted to prove the matchwinner as Arsenal won 1-0 at Newcastle United on Sunday.
Aubameyang punished slack Newcastle defending to give Arsenal victory at a rain-drenched St James' Park.
Starting with many of their 125m-worth of signings on the bench and without midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac, Gunners boss Unai Emery watched his side struggle to cut through their opponents in the first half.
That all changed just before the hour mark when Aubameyang was left unmarked on the edge of the area, collected Ainsley Maitland-Niles' cross from the right and fired past Martin Dubravka.
Emery handed 72m club-record signing Nicolas Pepe and midfielder Dani Ceballos debuts, but they failed to make much of an impression.
Afterwards, Aubameyang stated: "I think so (deserved to win), we fought today a lot. It was a great game against a good team. It was important to start with a win, last season we started bad, so we are happy.
"It is always positive for all the squad to win the first game, everyone is happy to get three points and we're looking forward to winning more games."
On whether he is thinking about the golden boot, he added: "Of course it is in the mind of a striker but first of all the team is the most important. I'm really pleased the goal helped us win the game."
