It felt like an evening in an alternative Champions League universe.
It is not often there is a total absence of tension in the last throes of a European knockout rendezvous. Yet here we were. Late on at the Emirates the PA system crackled into life to inform the crowd: “The referee has indicated a minimum of three minutes of stoppage time.” One fan turned to his mate and casually quipped, “Hopefully we’ll hold on…” Such is the rare comfort of a six-goal cushion.
Compare and contrast that with the scene where the biggest intrigue of the night lay for Arsenal — roughly 800 miles away in Madrid. A city ripped by the emotional duel of the shootout. By the time that was going on, most Arsenal fans were on their way home or in the local pubs watching on to see who their opponents would be in the next chapter of this Champions League series.
Arsenal’s half of the draw in their post-PSV world takes them into the realms they have not been for a long while. Last season, remember, was their first time back in the competition after a six-year absence. Exactly a year ago they beat Porto on penalties, which was in itself a booster to their self-esteem in the Champions League. Then they faltered at the next hurdle against Bayern Munich, a club who seemed to give them a bloody nose just about every year towards the end of the Arsene Wenger era.
But Real Madrid. Well. That’s something else entirely. Real Madrid summons memories of one of Arsenal’s most astonishing Champions League nights. Thierry Henry at the Bernabeu, an ovation from the Spanish fans for a precocious young teenaged midfielder called Cesc Fabregas, and an absolutely surreal back line including Emmanuel Eboue, Philippe Senderos and Mathieu Flamini keeping out the Galacticos. Simpler times.
Funny things can happen in the Champions League once a team gets into those ultra-levels of concentration and has the luck of a sudden gust of wind at their backs.
So, where exactly are today’s Arsenal team and what is sensible looking ahead at a tie against the serial winners? One thing is for certain: it won’t be particularly beneficial for the Real scouts to spend too much time analysing their 2-2 draw against PSV.
This match had more of an air of Europa League group game — after qualification is secure — than a Champions League knockout. Such was the peculiarity of the line-up, with its generous sprinkling of left backs and bizarre melange in attack, it developed a strange sense of watching a tribute band that sound vaguely similar but look very little like the main act.
It was that kind of affair. A match to watch with more curiosity than intensity. Some of PSV’s supporters had rocked up in the neighbourhood at 10am and by kick off were evidently in the mood for a what-the-hell party. The home support were rather more relaxed. Positioned in Block 7 of the lower tier behind the North Bank goal, the quality of chatter at times exceeded the passing connections on the pitch. When the discussion plunges as deep as Gary Mabbutt and Swap Shop, that’s a sure sign that the game is not as enticing as normal. Arsenal were sloppy, with flashes of intent, but nobody cared too much.
“Atletico just scored,” someone announced early on. The battle to find any kind of phone connectivity for updates continued during the game. News filtered through of Vinicius Junior missing a penalty, but with no further goal flashes, the conversations about who was most wanted in the next round boiled down to Real bringing the glamour Arsenal have so missed, but Atletico maybe providing a less daunting path to the next round.
Meanwhile, in front of them, Raheem Sterling’s performance was the most notable, and after two assists — one for Oleksandr Zinchenko to curl beautifully and the other nodded in by Declan Rice — there was a brief tongue-in-cheek fantasy that he might actually end up scoring the winner for Arsenal in this competition and earn himself a statue. Then Sterling did some less effective things and got suspended anyway, so that mad idea was, at least, parked for the time being.
Sterling played well but picked up a yellow card and will be suspended for the next round (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
How do Arsenal measure where they are? There is no question that this season they have looked more settled in the Champions League, more dynamic and focused than they were last term as they began to re-find their feet on this stage. They have racked up a goal difference of plus 19 (25 for and 6 against), which brings some encouragement.
The night after Paris Saint-Germain emerged as serious contenders by ousting Liverpool, it was instructive to think back to when Arsenal faced PSG in the league stage of the new format back in October. That proved to be a straightforward victory for Arsenal, a well executed 2-0 win, but so much has changed since. Luis Enrique’s team did not have the reinvented Ousmane Dembele or the swagger of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia. Arsenal did not have a super weird front three of Sterling, Mikel Merino and Kieran Tierney. Honesty, if you asked Mikel Arteta to imagine his most surreal attacking trio in October, the darkest recesses of his imagination would not have taken him there.
Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka both scored that night against PSG. The return of Saka in time for the next round, in addition to another bright cameo from Gabriel Martinelli on Wednesday, gives Arsenal a little more sense of themselves for the enormity of the challenges ahead.
(Top photos: Amy Lawrence/The Athletic)
