West Ham and Slaven Bilic were roundly criticised for fielding a weakened side as they exited Europe last week but Sunday's 2-0 win at Arsenal provided vindication of sorts.
The Hammers started their season a month ago and it showed. Against one of the favourites to win the Premier League, Bilic's men looked fitter, livelier and more alert. They were constantly first to the ball and broke with speed and accuracy.
Bilic held back his top performers as they crashed out in Europa League qualifying in the build-up to the game and now you can see why. Best of all was the heart-warming sight of 16-year-old academy player Reece Oxford marshalling the area just in front of the defence in a fashion it was difficult to grasp.
Despite his years, Oxford was an inspiring presence, not afraid to shout orders at his teammates or organise those in front of him. Hammers fans have always liked one of their own to take to their heart and the Edmonton-born youngster already looks destined to join the pantheon of academy greats. If the Europa League has done nothing else it has shown that Oxford is ready for the big time.
As if the meteoric progress wasn't enough, what is astonishing is that Oxford is nominally a central defender and he's effectively playing out of position at the base of a back four. You sense that such niceties are not likely to faze the player; the club even feeling comfortable enough to allow the youngster a post-match interview -- and Oxford came over as unassuming and enthusiastic as you'd hope. This lad obviously has a massive career ahead of him.
Elsewhere, a Winston Reid-inspired defence barely allowed the Arsenal forwards a sniff at goal with the New Zealander keeping Olivier Giroud in his pocket all afternoon. Dimitri Payet, making his league debut, was sublime and looks every inch a Premier League natural.
Led by Mark Noble, Payet was ably supported in midfield by teammates who snapped and closed down Arsenal before they could get started. Up front, Diafra Sakho and Mauro Zarate showed a turn of speed and an acute awareness the home defence never came to terms with. Sam Allardyce lost patience with Zarate after a good start last season but Bilic seems to have more faith in the Argentine and the player is responding to the manager's confidence in him.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the tenure of Allardyce was his penchant for allowing difficult games to get away from him, sometimes sending weakened teams out against sides he didn't think he was likely to get points from.
Supporters have rightly always been angered by this, arguing that if the team is organised and works hard, there is always a chance of getting a result against supposedly better opposition.
Bilic's tactics against Arsenal were spot-on and it was encouraging to see a coach prepared to use the strengths of his own team to upset the opposition.
Of course, these are early days. Nobody is pretending this is the start of Arsenal's decline or West Ham's rise to the top table and the advantage of the extra month's competitive football may come back to bite later in the campaign.
As a start, though, it's a very good one and Hammers fans can look forward to a season of eventful and entertaining football if Sunday's result is anything to go by.
Fans must be patient, though. Not only with Bilic and his new recruits but also with teenager Oxford. He's come an incredibly long way in such a short space of time and the spotlight will be firmly on him following his Emirates masterclass.
Observers have the propensity to pressurise young and emerging talent and it will take Oxford's calmness and Bilic's man-management to keep his feet on the ground.