Nights like these live long in the memory.
Over the course of a season we see plenty of wins, a lot of draws and a sprinkling of defeats too.
But there are some fixtures, some results that just stand out above all others, that come to mind where all others fade quickly in the memory.
Victory over Madrid, as comprehensive a performance as you might ever see from an Arsenal side, is just one such fixture. It will stay up there with the very best nights ever witnessed at the Emirates.
It probably wasn’t the most important fixture we’ve ever seen in terms of consequence but in terms of performance, of application, of desire, of dominance of sheer determination from crowd, coaches and players alike – it was one of the greatest.
To a man, Arsenal were outstanding. Even shorn of some of their best players, missing several key pieces across the pitch and relying on makeshift players in other departments, they took Madrid – perhaps the great club in world football – to the cleaners.
And, in truth, the 3-0 scoreline flattered the visitors. It could have been five and it could have been fixture over.
As it is, there is some life in it yet but that discussion is for another day. Today, we can and should just bask in one of the crowning moments in the Mikel Arteta area.
They were better than the visitors in every department and the trophy holders simply had no answer.
Stand out on the night was, quite obviously, Declan Rice. Yes, his free-kicks were probably the best you will ever see in a Champions League fixture of this magnitude but his performance was more than that. He ran the legs off his opposite numbers. They couldn’t compete with him, they couldn’t best him, they couldn’t find a way through him. Rice was the foundation upon which this win was built.
Credit must also go to Bukayo Saka (as ever it does) for the winning the free-kicks that allowed Rice to star. Saka had David Alaba on toast all night and, by the end, he had no answer but to foul the Englishmen. On another night, in another place, it might have been a clever solution, but not tonight. The Gunners served up maximum punishment for Alaba’s folly.
Elsewhere, there were stand-out nights for Mikel Merino and William Saliba while Miles Lewis Skelly made up a little ground again after a torrid few weeks in defence. He is not the finished article yet, by a long way, but he has a knack of taking matters into his own hands and really imposing himself on a game in a way that puts his opponent on the back foot. Yes, he is still fallible as a defender but his impact in so many others ways is beyond question.
Credit must also go to the manager who set his team up for a quite stunning success. He has had a lot to cope with in this campaign and he is far from free of blame for the shortcomings in recruitment that had cost us dearly this season and last. But, he rose to the occasion, against one of the best coaches the game has ever seen, and came out on top in stunning fashion. A truly outstanding coach.
What else is there to say? This was Arsenal at their best. Dynamic, dominant and dangerous. You won’t see many better nights like this so make the most of every moment.
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