Kieran Tierney had an Arsenal debut to remember, and then thanked Gunners fans for helping to make it a special night.
The Scottish left-back played for 77 minutes as Unai Emery's side saw off Championship side Nottingham Forest 5-0 in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
Young Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli opened the scored just after the half hour mark, before the floodgates opened in the final 20 minutes of the match as the Gunners pulled away from their visitors.
First Rob Holding - who was making his first appearance since December following a knee injury - found the net to make it 2-0, and then after Tierney was withdrawn for another returnee, Hector Bellerin, the Spaniard immediately registered an assist for Joe Willock.
Reiss Nelson added a fourth in the 84th minute after being teed up by Calum Chambers, with the defender again turning provider in the final minute as Martinelli grabbed his second goal of the game.
For Tierney the night represented the end to a frustrating couple of months on the sidelines following his arrival from Celtic, and he took to Twitter to thank his new fans in the immediate aftermath of the match.
Writing to his almost 300,000 followers, he said: "Thank you so much for all your support... very grateful. Great feeling making my debut!"
It remains to be seen whether Tierney will stay in the team for Monday's Premier League trip to Manchester United , with Emery claiming that match will come too soon for Bellerin at least.
“I think no," said Emery when asked if Bellerin will start at Old Trafford.
"Maybe in his mind yes. We need to listen to the doctor.
“The first minutes were amazing for him. The most important for him is his attitude. He wants to help us."
