Unai Emery said Arsenal had full control of the match in their 3-2 win over Cardiff despite being pegged back twice.
The Gunners needed an 81st-minute winner from Alexandre Lacazette to see their way past Neil Warnock's spirited Cardiff side, who scored their first two goals of the season as they twice equalised.
But Emery felt the visitors had generally been in control of affairs at the Cardiff City Stadium, and was also pleased with the performances of Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who he played together up front for the first time.
He said: "I enjoy winning, but in the 90 minutes the reaction of the team is very important when we concede two goals. We controlled the match, not the whole game but maybe 70 per cent of it, with our control of possession and positioning on the pitch.
"But we need to find the best way of dealing with the opposition when they like the long ball and put it in our box, we need to keep working to improve on that.
"I'm very satisfied. One goal for Lacazette, one for Aubameyang, but all the players worked with a commitment we want, and I think we are improving."
Petr Cech was close to getting caught out by Harry Arter, with the score at 0-0, when he attempted to play out from the back, but Emery was unconcerned with Arsenal's continuing struggles as they attempt to build from the defence.
Emery added: "Petr has a big personality, he's got a lot of experience and we want to build him up with this.
"We will continue to build with the centre-backs, the midfield, keeping possession of the ball, but he's very intelligent and knows when you need to play a long ball to get into the attacking areas."