Not for a moment did the six goal margin Arsenal built for themselves in the first leg look under threat. The opportunity presented itself for him to indulge his unconventional desire to deploy as many left backs as one football team could hold.

Another key Gunners player is now a booking away from an automatic one-match ban, with yellow card not wiped until after the quarter-finals

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, was pleased for the opportunity to give some minutes to fringe players, who are either recovering from injuries or had not been in first-team plans