Arena 'not surprised' Dempsey-Altidore-Pulisic attack clicked

Injuries to Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris forced Bruce Arena's hand in his first match back as United States manager on Friday night, but he wasn't concerned about deploying veteran Clint Dempsey against Honduras.

"We didn't have anyone else," Arena joked to ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle, before adding: "It made it easy for me."

Considering his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann's two losses to begin "the Hex," it was important that Arena got off to a winning start back in the post he vacated in 2006. The 6-0 win was a huge statement, with Dempsey - who won his first cap during Arena's first reign - bagging a treble in California after overcoming an irregular heartbeat scare last year.

Related: Dempsey hat-trick highlights USMNT's thorough demolition of Honduras

"It was impressive the way he kept improving. Checking with his fitness coaches there (in Seattle), we knew he could play," said Arena.

It was the first time Borussia Dortmund starlet Christian Pulisic and Dempsey lined up alongside one another, but their instant cohesion up top offers great hope that the U.S. can vault itself up the table in the fifth round of CONCACAF qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

Pulisic, 18, nabbed a goal merely 15 seconds after the break, with the opening goals coming from Sebastian Lletget and Michael Bradley. The youngster was also on hand to assist two of Dempsey's efforts, with Jozy Altidore holding up the ball and muscling off the opposition superbly.

"We've seen Clint do this before," Arena continued. "That's not a surprise, and then there's Jozy's quality and Christian I've kind of seen a little bit of this in the last couple of months. I'm not surprised that they played well together.

"Clint and Jozy know each other pretty well. Christian is just a natural. The game is easy for him. He's got exceptional skill, vision, he's pretty smooth. It was a nice combination of players."

The USMNT looked to set the record straight after defeats to Mexico and Costa Rica to begin this stage, and did so in devastating fashion. A trip to the intimidating atmosphere of Panama awaits on Tuesday.