In truth it is not what anyone was expecting in the stadium. Wenger is not renowned for his use of the hairdryer, but clearly words had been delivered in the dressing room. Neat, decisive, brilliantly executed, the goals were in sharp contrast to what had gone on in the preceding half.
Wenger wrote in his programme notes that he hoped the weekend's derby victory over Tottenham would stoke his team's confidence and kick start the next phase of their season.
And Montpellier seemed the ideal opponents to continue any upward trajectory. In their first season in the Champions League, the French champions were marooned at the bottom of Group B with no hope of progression. But if they were there for the taking, Arsenal made heavy going of it to start with. For most of the first half, the home team's passing was horribly awry. Wilshere, normally so reliable in his distribution, set the tone by giving the ball away twice in the first couple of minutes. Then Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta and even Santi Cazorla picked up the spirit of generosity, gifting the ball to their guests with a regularity that soon had Wenger shaking his head in his technical area.
Bacary Sagna, in particular, seemed dazzled by Montpellier's hi-viz shorts, repeatedly misdirecting his passes. So endemic did the poor direction become that Arsenal's best chance of the half came in the 31st minute when Laurent Koscielny tired of the scrappiness and decided to venture upfield alone. As he galloped towards the Montpellier area, he was finally brought to the ground. The ball broke fortuitously straight to Podolski, who planted a firm shot just wide of Jourdren's post.
Koscielny was central to Arsenal's other chance of the half. He remained upfield after a corner had been cleared. As the ball made its way to Podolski on the left wing, he timed his run past the Montpellier backline to perfection, meeting the cross with a header which clattered the crossbar.
It was a nice reminder to the visitors that they had more to worry about simply than Giroud. Remembering the 21 goals he had scored last season which took the club to their surprise championship victory in Ligue 1, they ganged up on him to restrict his space.
Henri Bedimo seemed particularly keen to remind Giroud what he had left behind, twice flooring him with a boxer's power.
In the second half, however, Arsenal upped their game, as the Montpellier fans confused everyone present by suddenly breaking into giddy celebration for no reason, the home supporters were sent home with a striking visual image playing in their minds of that second goal.
The way Podolski positioned himself as the ball dropped over his shoulder, the way he volleyed with his left foot with such precision and strength, it was a strike which would have brought back happy memories of when Robin van Persie plied his trade hereabouts. That is if Arsenal regulars allow themselves to think of such things.
Team details
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen; Arteta, Wilshere; Oxlade-Chamberlain (Ramsey 68), Cazorla (Coquelin 85), Podolski; Giroud (Gervinho 85).
Subs: Mannone (g), Arshavin, Jenkinson, Gibbs.
Booked Cazorla, Giroud, Koscielny
Goals: Wilshere 49, Podolski 63
Montpellier (4-2-3-1): Jourdren; Deplagne, Congré, El Kaoutari, Bedimo; Yanga-M'Biwa, Estrada; (Marveaux 79) Cabella (Herrera 68), Belhanda, Mounier; Charbonnier (Martin 68). Subs: Pionnier (g), Hilton, Pitau, Jeunechamp.
Booked: Bedimo, Deplange
Referee: F Aydinus (Turkey)
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