A look back at Arsenal’s Top Ten UCL Group Stage extra special moments

There’s not too many times I pay acknowledgement to UEFA. by Dan Smith

This week though marks the end of the Champions’ League Group stages. Next season’s version will see 36 teams compete in one League table. Based on rankings, the format will see clubs play 4 teams’ home and away.

The top 8 qualify for the round of 16. Positions 9-24 mean a two-legged play off to decide who else goes to the next round.

The current structure has been the same since 2003. So, under its current version Arsenal have never failed to get beyond the Group stages.

Here are our 10 best moments in the Champions League Group Stages.

Let me stress this list does not include the ‘second Group stage’ that UEFA experimented with for a few years.

Barcelona 1-1 Arsenal 1990/00

Consider other results Arsenal would get at the Nou Camp?

Not just is this the only time we have got a result at that stadium in the history of the Champions League, we did it with 10 men.

Moments after Grimandi had been sent off with us trailing 1-0, Kanu put in a rebound from a Davor Suker shot.

Only in their second season under the CL banner, the Gunners mostly looked overwhelmed by the occasion, like they didn’t quite believe they belonged on such a stage.

That was summed up by future manager Enrique’s goal, Vieira lacking composure, trying to juggle a Manninger fumble instead of just clearing the ball.

Maybe not having the confidence to play their game, we mostly made this a physical encounter.

This should have been a score line to give us self-belief to kick on, but by the next time we picked up any points in this group again, we had been eliminated.

For the second campaign in a row, playing our home fixtures at Wembley to meet UEFA regulations cost us.

From that point on, European nights would take place under the Highbury lights till we moved to the Emirates.

2000/01 Arsenal 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk

Arsenal christened Highbury’s first ever Champions League night with a famous comeback.

UEFA regulations of more advertising boards reduced our stadium’s 38,000 capacity, so the Gunners made a lot more money by playing at Wembley in Europe in the previous two years.

After only 2 wins in 6 fixtures though, Mr. Wenger argued that the financial benefits were sacrificing our chances on the pitch.

Put it this way, the only times we ever failed to get out of the group was when ‘home’ was the Twin Towers.

Shakhtar Donetsk were 2-0 up in half an hour but on the stroke of half time had a man sent off and conceded a penalty.

With the numbers advantage, Martin Keown was told to stay up front in the last few minutes, popping up with an unlikely brace. The assist for our winner was Kanu at his best.

2000/01 Arsenal 2-0 Lazio

This might not look too sexy now but like most things, context is everything.

Arsene Wenger had won the double since arriving in England and we were clearly the only serous l rivals to Man United. Yet we were yet to have that night where you felt this squad were comfortable with being at the head of UEFA table.

Having won our opening two fixtures, we were now against Italy’s best.

Lazio had won Serie A at its peak, had one of the best talents in the world in Nedved and were managed by Sven Goran Erickson.

This was almost too straightforward.

If you ever want an example of the understanding between Bergkamp and Ljungberg, just watch our two goals in the video below.

The striker drops deep, the midfielder makes a run into the box and is found by a delicious pass.

Opposition was aware of it just didn’t know how to stop it.

20002/3 PS4 0-4 Arsenal

This was during the period of us going 30 games unbeaten domestically.

This squad is often overshadowed by the Invincibles but the defending 2002 Double Winners equally played at a level where they should have done better in Europe.

This period was them at their apex.

Gilberto Silva scored the quickest goal in Champions League history.

Thierry Henry responded to racism in Holland with two late goals, as he glared at the silent crowd.

2003/4 Arsenal 1-0 Kiev

Little did we know it at the time, we were having one of our most famous campaigns. We wouldn’t lose a game in the Prem that season but in Europe it was very different. By matchday 4, we had one point to show for our efforts (losing 2 and drawing once).

On this night only the result mattered.

With seconds to go Ashley Cole was ordered to stay forward simply because it was now or never, there was no other choice but to throw everyone up front.

I had grown up, being force fed Man United getting out of jail with last minute winners.

This was our turn ….

The ball comes over from the right and Cole darts in for his most important goal as a Gunner.

Relief is more than joy.

We had stayed in the Champions League by the skin of our teeth.

2003 Inter Milan 1-5 Arsenal

Henry’s finest moment in Europe?

Our greatest ever performance in the CL?

It’s easy to forget the context. Arsenal had to win in the San Siro, something that no English club had managed. Against the same opponents who had won 3-0 at Highbury.

All the pressure was on us, we had to win.

It’s generally the moment that many accepted that the Gunners might just have possessed the best player in the world.

Henry not just scored twice against a famous back 4, but he assisted twice. The Frenchman was involved in 4 out of our 5 goals.

In that moment, we went from having to win to stay in Europe, into for the first-time genuine contenders to win the whole thing.

2005/6   Sparta Prague 0-2 Arsenal

Sometimes a game makes a list purely for the moments.

Nothing more to say then this was the night that Thierry Henry became the greatest goal scorer in the history of our club.

The greatest to ever live?

Watch Henry’s performance here…..

2007  Arsenal 7-0 Slavia Prague

There’s a lot been written about our two decades without a title.

This team often gets forgotten for the potential it had.

Comparisons could be made with the current squad in terms of being talented but lacking the leadership to get over the line.

There were moments though when everything came together, and the football was a joy to watch.

This was one of those nights as one of the youngest teams we ever fielded in the Champions League equaled our biggest ever victory.

Due to paying off the debt from building the Emirates, this group was broken up too soon.

What could have been?

2015   Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich

We had gotten ourselves in a right pickle in the Champions League.

Losing our opening two fixtures meant realistically we needed points in our next two games to avoid elimination.

The issue being those matches happened to be a Double header with Bayern Munich!

Anyone who remembers this time period will know they often showed there was a gap in quality between us and them.

In fact, two weeks later, they scored 5 in Germany against us.

That made the final 10 mins crucial at the Emirates.

Clinging on for a draw that wouldn’t have been enough, super sub-Giroud took advantage of a Neuer mistake and Bellerin’s pace assisted Ozil.

2015  Olympiakos 0-3 Arsenal

Given how they started the group Arsenal had done well to get to the final game with their destiny in their own hands.

The only issue being that destiny involved needing to win by two clear goals to better Olympiakos’s 3-2 upset at the Emirates.

We made a potentially tricky scenario look simple, largely thanks to Giroud being in his best form for Arsenal.

He became the 4th Gunner to score a hat trick in the Champions League

On a night where the first goal was always going to be vital, we had the scoreline we needed by the 49th minute.

Dan