Arsenal were trailing to a James Justin finish and heading into their first home defeat of the season when Mikel Arteta turned to his bench. One of the players he sent on was his record midfield signing. Four minutes later, Guimarães had scored the winner in a 2-1 comeback against Leeds United.

The move ended with Rice flicking the ball with his heel into the top of the box, where Guimarães was arriving, and the Brazilian struck first-time into the far corner. It was his second goal for the club, and it came on his home debut at the Emirates.

Arteta did not try to play the moment down afterwards.

“The timing, movement and execution of it, yes, it was a beauty,” he said.

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He also moved the conversation on quickly to what the goal means for the standard inside his squad.

“This is the level for Arsenal. Every week, every game, every minute.”

A £75m signing finding his feet

Arsenal agreed the £75m fee with Newcastle United in the summer for the Brazil midfielder, who had captained Newcastle and was central to the identity Eddie Howe built on Tyneside. It was the summer’s most-debated Premier League move: a club-record outlay on one of the opposition’s most beloved players.

‘A headache for the manager’

Guimarães framed his own role in those terms after the final whistle.

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“My job if on the bench is to give a headache to the manager,” he said.

The result lifts Arsenal into the title conversation after their stuttering loss at Brighton the previous weekend, and the question Arteta would most like to be asked next is also the one that follows naturally from Saturday: does Guimarães start, or is £75m Arsenal’s most expensive impact player? Arteta has just signed a contract extension, so he has time to work it out.

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