Alexis Sanchez's evening at the Emirates started in a sulk but the Arsenal forward ended it in the best possible way

The Chilean forward may not be happy about still being in north London but there is no better way to respond than like this

Alexis Sanchez won the game himself with a brilliant goal that only he could have scored (Getty)

What can one player do when he finds himself playing for a struggling team in a scrappy game in a competition he has no real business being involved in?

That was the dilemma facing Alexis Sanchez this evening at the Emirates, and while he started in a sulk he ended in the best possible way, by winning the game himself with a brilliant goal that only he could have scored. He may not be happy about being here but there is no better way to respond than like this.

Alex Iwobi had overhit a pass for Sanchez to run onto, with the game still tied at 1-1. Sanchez chased a pass others would have given up on, picking it up in the corner, turning and running at Jorge Mere. He threw him off the scent with a step over, cut inside, surrounded by grey shirts but never worried by them. There were passes on but Sanchez understood that this was a problem only he could solve. So he opened his body just a touch and curled the ball into the far top corner of the net.

It is easy and often right to be dismissive of Sanchez’s self-centred individualism. He sees himself as better than his Arsenal’s team-mates, and while that might be a reasonable analysis, it is not exactly healthy to team ethos. But this was a moment when Sanchez’s solo approach was exactly what Arsenal needed. Without that, and without his quality, they might have lost.

This whole game was an acid test for Sanchez of his commitment to Arsenal, and what they can expect from him over the rest of his time here. It was just his second start of the season and his first since his dream move to Manchester City collapsed on deadline day as Arsenal tried and failed to replace him with Thomas Lemar. But while his substitute appearance against Bournemouth was met with a mixed reception, the fans were back with him today. There were more pressing issues in the stadium today.

It will not have escaped Sanchez’s attention that Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain, who courted him this summer, all enjoyed thumping Champions League wins this week. That is the level Sanchez should be playing at, ultimately, which is why he wants out of Arsenal as soon as he can in 2018.

But he is not, he is playing in the Europa League, at least for now. Arsene Wenger stayed true to his August promise to rest and rotate for this game, so this was far from a full-strength side. Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck and Granit Xhaka were all rested to prepare them for Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.

Sanchez is obviously Arsenal’s best player but he is short of match fitness, which is why he was included in this makeshift team. But that only increased the dissonance, seeing him playing in this B-team. There were certainly moments when he looked as if he was tearing his hair out with some team-mates, as he span away in rage at a misplaced pass or ignored run.

Too often in the first half Sanchez would find himself at left back, taking the ball himself just to make sure he could get hold of it without relying on a team-mate who might get it wrong. It is not a healthy attitude in normal circumstances, but in the second half he started to get to grips with the game. And eventually he won it, with a goal that, in its own way, vindicated his strange presence here tonight.