Way back when we were in the CL!
Unfortunately, as we know, it’s been a while since we have been present in the Champions League, but what game would you go back to and re-live it all over again if you could?
Well for me when I sit and reminisce about some of the amazing matches that we have played in, my answer would be an easier one than for any of the other competitions. Although the FA Cup final against Chelsea in 2017 also sits level at the top for me if we are talking about all the games I’ve seen.
But no matter what has happened in the Champions League and no matter how close we got it would always be a game I was privileged and lucky enough to attend.
So, if I could go back and re-live one night in the Champions League, it would be all the way back to February 2011, when we faced Barcelona at the Emirates in the first leg of the last-16 clash!
We were losing 1-0 for 78 minutes after David Villa got Barca’s only goal of the game on the 26th minute and looked set to get the win for his side. Yet Robin Van Persie had other ideas and equalised with 12 minutes left to play, and then our little Russian magician Andrei Arshavin got the winner five minutes later, with seven minutes left to play.
It was a winner that made the Emirates erupt even louder than it did when they got the equaliser and a celebration that would be remembered forever.
But it was a night that Arsenal played Barcelona at their own game at times, passing and controlling the game well, and any time Barcelona players got the ball three or more Arsenal players surrounded them and won the ball back. It was even a bit of a quiet night in North London for Lionel Messi, but it was a night that to date, has been the best in my Emirates Stadium history so far!
And funnily enough none of the players who were in the Arsenal team back then are at the club anymore. But that win and the way the team and the fans collectively worked hard and celebrated both goals, will forever live in my heart and my memory. It was a game I was proud to attend, and I still smile at the win and feel the goosebumps now.
Although we have never won the competition, sometimes it’s the non-trophy winning games that can give you such a feeling.
However, if I could go back to one moment and change it, it would be the “almost” moment, against the same opponents, but in the final of the competition back in 2006. That night will always hurt but if I could go back and change it, I would of course change the result as I’d be mad not to! We can dream, can’t we?
There is no denying that we have had some amazing Champions League nights though.
And who knows, if the team keeps going in this form and we get back into the Champions League then we may yet get to live some more of those sorts of nights!
Here’s hoping hey Gooners?
Here are the highlights from that special night, when Jack Wilshere was hailed as a superstar of the future…
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_
Favourite Arsenal game ever must be the win at Anfield to steal the title off them under GG. Massive result and totally unexpected.
‘89 league win at Anfield, watched each half in two different pubs and ‘70 Fairs Cup win, being on the North Bank and then on the pitch afterwards. Two great nights.
Bertie Mee’s win at WHL – what a night!!!
Defined what club owned North London and we have never looked back!!!
They are above us looking back at us ken at the moment. LOL.
Bigger picture Reggie, bigger picture.
Trophies won etc etc etc and, actually they are below us at the moment. LOL!!!
Agree but i have to be honest, i like their best 11, squad wise not so and the result yesterday was a shock to be honest. They are on a journey but where too, im not sure. They will lose rice at the end of the season and maybe a few more but they could have a bit of fun before then.
Oh reggie what are you on about?
The win at Anfield as one I didn’t go to but the cup final in’71 that I did go to was a teenager’s dream come true. Unforgettable moments – sharing the elation
Wrong place
Meant to be a stand alone post
I think he got muddled Declan
Just the present league position Declan.
How could I not have mentioned that game. I was there on the shelf and can’t remember getting home.
Your greatest game will largely depend on your age and generation.
For me as an oldie is has to be pretty much a tie between winning the title at WHL in ’71 and the title at Anfield in ’89.
Shenels choice would not have made my personal top thirty and it did not lead to a trophy, even indirectly, as any league game would in a title winning year.
A nice one off memory for sure but no more than that. But we oldies have far more choice to choose from.
2014 FA cup final
26 May, 1989, at Anfield. I’d been an Arsenal fanatic for 12 years by then and we’d never come close to winning the title in that time. I watched the match live and have re-watched it so often that I can just about quote the whole 90-minute commentary. The other special match for me was the 7-nil win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League. I was at the Emirates that day and it was like a football dream.
The North Bank was special that night against Anderlect wasn’t it Declan
I was there for the Ajax game as well, best atmosphere I’ve ever known…
White Hart Lane in ’71 for me…………