A club’s transfer business can only be definitively judged over the long term but, as the dust settled on Arsenal’s Europa League exit against Atletico Madrid, one thought lingered: might it have all been very different with Olivier Giroud in the team?

He was sacrificed in January amid the determination to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng but, with the former Borussia Dortmund striker ineligible for European competition, Arsenal were significantly weakened in what became their priority for the season.

This was further magnified by the swap deal that saw Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan exchanged and also the sale to Everton of Theo Walcott.

With Mkhitaryan injured from the first leg, Arsenal...