The fear had been that after the arduous trip for Thursday night’s Europa League tie in Azerbaijan, Arsenal would be tired or at least suffer from that mysterious malaise induced by the competition. Instead, Unai Emery’s team recorded their ninth consecutive victory in all competitions and they did so in sumptuous style.

Their new manager has kept the flair and beefed up the pragmatism. Emery has done what so few new managers seem capable of doing; he has tweaked and chivvied without the need of a foghorn proclaiming he knows best. The upshot was a performance that was both efficient and attractive, the highlight of which was a fine team goal finished with a flick by Aaron Ramsey.

No one said it would be easy