This was some response to charges of being shot shy. Arsenal’s lack of cutting edge on foreign trips had been the pre-match talking point but it turned out they had saved up a hiding for the continent’s form team.

Sporting had no answer to a masterful first-half display that was reflected accurately by strikes from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhães, all of whom exposed a grievously flaky backline. While the hosts were given hope by Gonçalo Inácio early in a more competitive second period they had too much to do. Arsenal went back through the gears when it mattered, Bukayo Saka’s penalty and a Leandro Trossard header dealing their ambitions of swift passage to the knockout stage a significant boost.