If the final match of Arsenal's pre-season served as an audition of sorts for Gabriel Martinelli, this was not a show-stopping performance to secure the role.
It was no surprise that Mikel Arteta named effectively a first-choice side against Lyon, with only a week to go until the new Premier League campaign.
Leandro Trossard scored against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek to throw down the gauntlet, but Martinelli had his chance to respond here against generous opposition.
The Brazilian thrives when given space to exploit, though Premier League sides rarely offer Arsenal that, sitting deep and doubling up out wide. That defensive formula has, it would appear, not crossed the Channel.
Lyon arrived in north London with a gameplan that suggested Ainsley Maitland-Niles, starting for the French side, had passed on little in the way of insight into his former team-mates. The visitors were open in transition, vulnerable from set-pieces and unable to match Arsenal's intensity in a 2-0 defeat in the Emirates Cup.
Martinelli offered a persistent threat in the first-half and, as ever, worked tirelessly off the ball. The 23-year-old was key in a relentless Arsenal press right from kick-off and received a huge cheer from the crowd when sprinting back to win the ball off Said Benrahma.
That side of his game cannot be questioned, but it is end-product that will determine his role at the club. The 23-year-old scored only six Premier League goals last season, a tally doubled by Trossard.
Speaking after the Lyon match of his personal battle with Trossard, Martinelli said: "I think it's good for the team.
"We try to do our best on the pitch to win the game, it's good to have two players fighting for the position. Arsenal are happy with that, we're happy also."
Trossard, perhaps the club's best finisher, won that fight last term, and Martinelli's sixth season at the club feels like a decisive one.
In David Raya, Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, Arsenal have pushed to strengthen across the pitch in the most recent transfer windows. Reinforcements in wide areas have not yet come, but the club are not shy in upgrading and another barren season in front of goal could leave Martinelli vulnerable.
Chances that do come his way must be taken, but big ones came and went against Lyon. Odegaard played a lovely ball into path of Martinelli, who could not get it out of his feet in time to find the wide-open Havertz.
An even more significant opportunity arrived on the half-hour mark, with all the ingredients for a trademark Martinelli goal.
Martinelli’s sixth season at the club feels like a decisive one
Havertz played the ball in behind and Martinelli was away, the entire Lyon half vacant and only Clinton Mata in pursuit. There was time, so absent was the Lyon defending, for the mind to wander back to January 2020, when Martinelli found himself in a similar position at Stamford Bridge and charged through to score.
Four years later, those memories were not interrupted by the sound of ball meeting net. There was no goal, not even a shot in fact, as the forward failed to leave Mata behind and tumbled over inside the box.
Speaking earlier this summer on Arsenal's transfer plans, Arteta said: "The main thing is to focus on falling in love with the players we have and make them better."
There is a chaotic feel to Martinelli's play, as direct in his running as anyone in the squad. At his best, he can add a much-needed unpredictable edge to a system that prioritises structures.
There is much to love and moments of electric brilliance stood out from the very first days of his Arsenal career, in what was a struggling side.
With the squad now challenging for the biggest prizes, the need for consistent returns has never been greater.
