For three seasons, Mikel Arteta has resisted playing Oleksandr Zinchenko in midfield. It is the position he played until Pep Guardiola converted him into an inverted left-back — and still often does for Ukraine — but he has been all but phased out of the team in the last 12 months.

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.

Arsenal set up a Champions League quarter-final against holders Real Madrid with a 9-3 aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven after a 2-2 draw in the second leg of their last-16 clash on Wednesday.