Not for a moment did the six goal margin Arsenal built for themselves in the first leg look under threat. The opportunity presented itself for him to indulge his unconventional desire to deploy as many left backs as one football team could hold.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, was pleased for the opportunity to give some minutes to fringe players, who are either recovering from injuries or had not been in first-team plans

The winger started just his 10th game of the season on Wednesday night, but he shown as Arsenal drew 2-2 with PSV Eindhoven to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Sterling assisted both of Arsenal’s goals as they setup a showdown with Real Madrid by knocking out PSV Eindhoven 9-3 on aggregate.