It wasn't the perfect performance, but Arsenal just about did what they needed to do on Wednesday night.
Chelsea, with new boss Liam Rosenior in the dugout, hosted Mikel Arteta's side for the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.
On paper, the Gunners were the stronger side, especially with the player the Blues were missing through injury and suspension, but that only added to the pressure on their shoulders from the 1-1 draw there a couple of months ago.
Chelsea vs Arsenal
Chelsea
2
58%
1
10
5
7
495
11
All Stats via Sofascore
Fortunately, Arsenal rose to the occasion, and while some players were a little lackadaisical, some really shone, including Viktor Gyokeres and someone who could go down as one of the club's best signings in a long time.
How Gyokeres helped down Chelsea
It would be fair to say that since his big-money move to Arsenal in the summer, things have not gone particularly well for Gyokeres.
Sure, there have been the odd moments of class, like against Leeds United and Atlético Madrid, but on the whole, he has been poor and often anonymous in games.
It looked like Wednesday night was going to be another disappointing performance from the Swedish international when the half-time whistle went.
gyokeres
However, the former Sporting CP man came alive in the second half and showed some of what fans were hoping he'd be like from the start of the campaign.
The 27-year-old suddenly became a constant thorn in the side of the Blues' backline, using his strength to hold up the ball and bring others into play.
More importantly, though, he also scored his first goal in open play for an age, getting on the end of a Ben White cross spilt by Robert Sanchez less than a yard in front of the goal.
Then, if that wasn't enough, he also set up the following goal with some great hold-up play.
arsenal gyokeres
In all, Gyokeres managed to turn what could have been a middling performance into a great one, and fans will be hoping that he'll now kick on.
However, while the Swedish striker was impressive, another Arsenal star was even better, someone who could go down as one of the club's best signings in a long time.
Arsenal star outshone Gyokeres
The good news for Arteta and Co is that there were a few other players who put in solid performances for Arsenal on Wednesday night, but when it comes to the standout star, it's hard to look past Martin Zubimendi.
zubimendi
The Spanish international has been a little up and down in recent weeks, but against Chelsea, the £60m signing was back to his very best.
If he wasn't helping to win the ball back with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, he was dictating play from deep and showing his sheer class on the ball.
It's this ability to heavily influence games in both phases of play that makes the former Real Sociedad star such an integral part of Arteta's team, or as ESPN's Roberto Rojas put it, the club's "best signing" made under Andrea Berta's reign.
However, the "project defining signing," as dubbed by Arsenal writer Adam Keys, wasn't content with just conducting from deep; he wanted to get on the scoresheet himself, which is exactly what he did.
After Gyokeres held up the ball perfectly, the midfield maestro beat two players in the penalty area before lashing the ball past Sanchez.
The watching press were understandably blown away by what they saw and football.london's Tom Canton awarded the Basque genius a 9/10 match rating at full-time.
Unsurprisingly, Zubimendi's statistics more than justify such a rating.
Zubimendi vs Chelsea
Minutes
Goals
Key Passes
Passes
Shots
Touches
Lost Possession
Dribbles (Successful)
Interceptions
Clearances
Recoveries
All Stats via Sofascore
In 96 minutes of action, he completed 32 of 34 passes, played one key pass, took two shots, completed 100% of his dribbles, took 51 touches but lost the ball just five times, recovered the ball three times, made two interceptions and one clearance.
Ultimately, it was an important win for Arsenal and a game in which Gyokeres and Zubimendi really showed just how talented they are.
martin-odegaard-arsenal Related
Arteta pushing Arsenal to sign PL star who could usurp Odegaard as captain
The monstrous leader would be an excellent addition to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side, but could spell trouble for Odegaard's position as captain.