Arsenal have not done much more than necessary to finish their past games, and one question remains.

Arsenal does what it takes and maybe gets what they really need.

All they have is a 1-0 win against Sporting in the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final, which puts them on the brink of a second consecutive semi-final for the first time in the club’s history.

They have a win again – a good feeling. You could see it in the joy of the players after Kai Howertz scored a fine goal. You can see him in relief after one of David Raya’s more spectacular saves.

All the noise from recent domestic cup defeats has been drowned out by the celebration and the good feeling restored just before the match that really matters to them: at home to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

“I think we had a point to prove,” Mikel Arteta said.

There is something of a lesson in this match, too, a performance from a classically educated European era and another productive use of the bench. The substitutions again made the difference, showing another value for squad depth at a time when much was said about physical fatigue. It was Arteta’s 24th goal and 14th assist from the bench this season, more than anyone else.

“Once again, the story of the season,” Arteta added. “The finishers came when the most important part of the game was about to happen and they made a difference for us to win it.”

But there was more.

The goal and victory came when one of their attackers stepped up at the end. After a match in which they once again seemed to play within themselves and often seemed more intent on control than victory, substitute Gabriel Martinelli changed the pace and tone.

He received the ball in the sporting half and turned before going for it. Huertz beautifully played a fine pass, intended for a run. The goal was even better because the German forward continued to flow fluidly and slotted the ball past Rui Silva.

The goal was also seen more clearly because it was so different from most weapon displays.

They seemed satisfied with the 0-0 draw. It could be argued that this was a fair approach after recent sporting woes and that they just needed to stabilise, but it is hard to wonder whether there is more to it.

With everything now so dependent on the end result, the question is whether Arteta is now playing results-based football without the processes that actually produce such results.

This can manifest in various ways, and often in subtle ways, such as taking a conservative approach to maintain control rather than being more aggressive to take over the game. Hence the importance of Martinelli’s insistence.

So much more midfield play. How many times did Martin Zobemendi and Martin Odegaard go for the safe option?

Such approaches promote the concept of a team playing within itself and going through it without lifting people off their feet.

Again, they won’t care if it all ends with the team celebrating the title or the Champions League.

Arsenal is the only English team to have played in every possible fixture this season, including the FA Cup semi-finals.

It makes a difference.

You can see it above all in a player like Zobemendi. A player who is rightly praised for his accurate passing is responsible for an unusual amount of incorrect backpasses, which poses a threat. There were two here, with Raya, of course, having to clear both. What can it be but exhaustion? A midfielder is usually so crisp.

There is a fair question as to whether this trend has been influenced by the lack of further movement in the field. On several occasions throughout the game, but particularly in the first half, Zobemendi was at the centre of the ball and trying to play it forward to give the front line a lot of stability. Again, Martinelli changed it. That is the importance of these alternatives.

Weapons immediately looked more mobile. Victor Guerres again fought back, but he didn’t really damage his former team, whose fans naturally applauded him. Sweden could also have been more mobile to avoid the offside that disallowed Zubimendi’s strike.

It wasn’t all about Arsenal.

The games were well marshalled defensively. He also made three excellent saves from Raya.

And so there is another perspective on it.

It was actually a throwback in the right way – a performance from a classic European era. Arsenal, before seizing their chance, showed a tactic against the opposition, who had a run of 17 home wins.

“It’s very difficult, very difficult to play,” Arteta added. “That’s why they’ve won 17 in a row here. They haven’t lost in a long time. We really had to earn it.”

Arsenal still couldn’t play anything close to their maximum this season due to various problems, so they produced the least of vintage Champions League performances. They also used this depth, the larger the number. It helps when one of them is Havertz, who has a rich history in the competition: he has been a match-winner in the final. Why did he show up here? Arsenal showed an old quality.

The modern dynamics of the game may have ensured that such performances are no longer as visible, but recent changes may mean they have become newly important again.

It can be decisive in other ways.

After a week, when all the talk is about how the results of other competitions tie in with, and could affect, the title challenge, what will it do?

Arteta had some pointed comments on that as well. He admitted that perhaps he needed the nature of this win.

“The demand in August is to win repeatedly, and if you don’t win, it feels like a disaster; not winning four trophies raises the question, what are we doing?” That’s fine, but they need some perspective, especially from me, a big reminder of who we are as a team and the things that brought us and the things that are there that are going to take us. See what happens.

What happens now? Arsenal feels good again, at the best time.

That’s what happens with last-minute winners. There are few like him, and not many who perform as brilliantly as he does.

Like everything else with Arsenal at the moment, the focus is solely on the final outcome. Or, as Arteta might put it, how you finish – and who finishes.