Arsenal saved their best performance of the season for their biggest match. This was a truly outstanding display that leaves them three matches from a return to the Champions League elite. The spectre of failure remains, of course – but less so if they keep playing like this.
It was 1995-96 when Arsenal last didn't play in Europe and with the club mired in mid-table and out of all domestic cups that scenario keeps the stakes high. Mikel Arteta needs to lift a second trophy, the Europa League to go with last season's FA Cup. And that's pressure.