Piero Hincapie put in a performance that will surely have pleased Mikel Arteta, following his recent move to Arsenal. The 23-year-old was signed from Bayer Leverkusen on deadline day, with Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta skilfully negotiating a season-long loan deal that also includes an option-to-buy.
This allowed Jakub Kiwior to make a move to Porto, while Reiss Nelson, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and Sambi Lokonga were among the late departures.
Hincapie's signing marked the fourth defensive addition in three years, a decision that raised eyebrows among some fans. He follows Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera into the club.
Mosquera had a challenging introduction for his first competitive minutes away from home when he replaced the injured William Saliba just minutes into the Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield. With Ben White also currently out of action, the decision to sign Hincapie appears to be justified.
Having arrived at the start of the international break, Hincapie will have to wait to make his debut and train with his new teammates.
However, he will be maintaining his fitness levels as he represents Ecuador over the next fortnight. Their first World Cup qualifier of the break took place in the early hours of Friday morning against Paraguay with the game ending as a goalless draw.
Ecuador have drawn 0-0 for the fourth consecutive time, with Hincapie's performance standing out, according to statistics from FotMob. He completed 75 of his 88 attempted passes - the highest number by any player - and won all five of his ground duels and two attempted tackles.
In addition, he made four recoveries, two interceptions and one block, earning him a match rating of 7.6. Arteta will be pleased with such a strong defensive display, given his efforts to ensure Arsenal has the best possible defence.
The Gunners have already kept two clean sheets this season, with the only goal they've conceded being a stunning free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai. They'll be hoping to bounce back from that defeat when they face Nottingham Forest next Saturday lunchtime.
Hincapie, who has featured in all of Ecuador's recent matches, is likely to start against Argentina on Tuesday evening in South America. As a result, he probably won't return to Arsenal until Thursday.
This makes it unlikely that Hincapie will make his debut in Arsenal's next match, which is just over 48 hours later. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz have already been ruled out due to hamstring and knee injuries, respectively. Martin Odegaard returned at Anfield after suffering a shoulder injury, while Ben White and Christian Norgaard remained absent.