Arsenal were watching. Of course they were. A fair portion of Mikel Arteta’s squad will have taken note of Manchester City on Sunday.
Bukayo Saka in particular. His area of the pitch, that right-hand touchline, is one Pep Guardiola has wrestled with recently. Shorn of left backs as it was, an ideal world did not include him allowing Joao Cancelo to pack his things and head for Bayern Munich on loan.
Those are the calls he is paid the big bucks for, to decide whether talent outweighs a dissenting voice.