Players and fans of Gunners and CSKA Moscow produced a life-affirming football occasion, despite concerns about securityMidway 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...
CSKA’s back three, with a combined age of 108, were unable to cope with Arsenal’s attacking verve, particularly in the absence of any kind of defensive midfield coverVictor Goncharenko was halfway through a candid assessment of his team’s hammering by Arsenal when, unprompted, he produced one of the more statesmanlike interventions in contemporary Anglo-Russian relations. “We still welcome you in Russia for the World Cup,” the CSKA Moscow manager said. “We can assure you there will be great stadiums. Ask us questions and please come to Russia.” Related: Aaron Ramsey scores wonder goal in Arsenal’s easy defeat of CSKA Moscow Related: Wenger ready to see best of Lacazette as he weighs up Europa League start Continue reading...
A feline invader merits a Uefa inquiry, while Danny Welbeck showcased with impunity the English talent for deception also displayed by Sterling, Vardy and of course Dele AlliPresumably, everyone is up to speed by now about the reassuring news from Uefa, permanently trying to find different ways of curing football’s ills, that it has launched disciplinary action against Besiktas because of the pitch invader that briefly interrupted the club’s Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.Even by Uefa’s standards, it’s a belter of a story given that it was actually a ginger cat who had wandered in off the streets to investigate what all these silly humans were up to. Unfortunately for Besiktas, nobody at Uefa appears to be aware that...
Midfielder led by example in a game which produced a 3-1 win over Milan which was not as simple as the scoreline suggestedThere was a bit of a debate going on before this match. Hey, this is Arsenal we’re talking about after all. Anyway, the theme this time was whether the Milan match was something of a hiding to nothing for the Gunners. Win it and they earn no congratulation, lose and it’s not worth contemplating. Would the fans care? Would they even turn up?Perhaps in the hope of sweetening the deal, the club put on a light show before kick-off. It was pretty good. The main floodlights rippled on and off in a limited impersonation of the Beijing Bird’s...
Too often notable by his absence, Mesut Özil showed the skills that can make him a world beater against MilanWhen Brighton beat Arsenal to push Arsène Wenger and his miserable band of men even further into their palace of sadness last weekend, Mesut Özil was nowhere to be seen. It was easy to reach for the old argument that when Arsenal needed this outrageously talented playmaker the most, he was notable by his absence. It has been a vacillating debate ever since Özil arrived in England in 2013, between those who have fallen for his gilded skills and others irked at his ostensibly casual manner.As with most things, the truth lies somewhere between the two. But it is undoubtedly frustrating...