Even if Arsenal had lost the League Cup game against Reading, instead of making a stirring comeback to win 7-5; even if Theo Walcott had not scored that hat-trick or Marouane Chamakh a brace, one performance would have stood out for the Gunners - that of their striker Olivier Giroud.
In a 60-minute spell - of normal time and extra time -- Giroud showed exactly why Arsenal had paid Montpellier nearly £13 million pounds ($21 million) for his services. Walcott had a great game, Andrey Arshavin an even better one, with Thomas Eisfeld also impressing everyone with his ability. However, nothing was more enthralling than to see Giroud bully the rival team's defense. When was the last time an Arsenal striker - physically and technically - was able bring a defense down to their knees? The obvious answer would be Thierry Henry.
Sure Robin Van Persie was excellent, at finding the right pockets or producing moments of brilliance like only he can, but he was never physically imposing.
Make no mistake, Giroud is no Henry and will never be. But the way in which he inspired his teammates to produce one of the greatest comebacks in League Cup history, is something that cannot be ignored.
This performance - and it should be taken into account that it was only a League Cup game with Arsenal having nothing to lose after going 4-0 down - was one of dominance in the air as well as with the ball at his feet.
Nothing encapsulated Giroud's ability on both fronts more than the goal he scored - heading in perfectly off a corner - Giroud will need to put that weapon into better use in the English Premier League as well - and then the chance he had later when he slalomed his way into the penalty box, before unleashing a powerful left-footed strike, which was well saved by the Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici.
Giroud would later force another brilliant save, after rising highest to head in off a near-post cross - meaning with him Arsenal have the option of floating that ball into the box, whenever necessary.
The 25-year-old, who has made it to the Premier League the hard way, working his way up the French League's hierarchy, was up for every challenge, closing down the defenders and the goalkeeper at every opportunity - a mentality which slowly but surely rubbed off on strike partner Chamakh.
If -- and I know it is a big if -- Giroud can produce such performances consistently, even against the so-called smaller teams, where Arsenal falter so often, the Gunners will be able to mount a sustained challenge for the Premier League title.
Right after the first game, you always felt Giroud had that little special in him, the desire to do well. You could see that with the agony on his face each time he missed a chance. This was a player that wanted to prove something to everyone, and was desperate to justify the £13 million tag.
It is clear Giroud won't be someone to sit on the bench and happily lap-up the considerable weekly salary that is handed out to him. Come the need, he can be a player that can be trusted - the performance against Reading showed that.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would also have seen that, and slowly but surely the confidence and faith in playing the striker week-in and week-out will grow and with it the confidence of the former Montpellier man is bound to increase as well.
Being a striker is as much about confidence as it is about ability, and we all know every single Arsenal player has the ability - so if Giroud finds the confidence, and on Tuesday he looked like a player high on confidence - Arsenal might just have found their next prolific scorer.
