Published: 20:03, 18 October 2025 | Updated: 20:06, 18 October 2025

Even a collection of artists can appreciate the value of a grubby finish on a cold, hard night. For that reason, the ugliest goal of Arsenal’s campaign might yet be remembered as one of those defining moments in a season.

That it was nudged over from two yards off the thigh of Leandro Trossard would otherwise be a forgettable detail, but it rerouted a fixture that had proven more taxing than most expected.

It was also indicative of what we might tentatively risk terming as the new Arsenal. They have the pretty stuff in abundance and we know that. Just as we know they have previous for being flaky in past challenges, but what they did here, with grime and graft in the face of potential embarrassment, is the stuff of serious contenders.

Consider a statistic: this was their third away win in four and all have come from single-goal margins. In other words, they are mastering the priceless quality of finding a way. Of riding out matches when they don’t have their...