Players and fans of Gunners and CSKA Moscow produced a life-affirming football occasion, despite concerns about security
Midway through the second half of a match whose tension levels had amped up beyond recognition, Danny Welbeck conjured up a moment that promised everything and nothing. Arsenal were rocking and CSKA Moscow raucous but there was Welbeck, burning away from a panting Kirill Nababkin on the left flank, eating up 50 yards of turf and offering a self-made opportunity on the counter. His centre, scuffed and misdirected with team-mates waiting, was poor and at that moment it was tempting to wonder whether Arsenal, who had rarely reached anything like that speed in the previous 65 minutes, would pay the ultimate price for not working through the gears a little sooner.
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