MADRID DESTRUCTION SHIFTS ARSENAL NARRATIVE

ARTETA AND THE BOYS STRIKE FEAR INTO EUROPEAN FOOTBALL — CAN WE WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?

What an incredible day. A core memory for millions of Arsenal fans around the world. Our boys smacked Madrid 5-1 over two legs. They were totally dominant on every level. They did it with a depleted squad against a team of swaggery superstars. My dad flew in for the game, we watched it with my 3 month old, he turned to us at the end of the game and said, ‘lads, that’s what the beautiful game is all about.’

That was the Arsenal we’ve been waiting for over the past 20 years.

We weren’t overawed by the Bernabeu, the social media chatter, or the occasion.

We weren’t bullied, despite bully-boy tactics from minute one.

We weren’t outrun, out-thought, or out BIG MOMENT’d.

Arsenal were utterly masterful and they shocked a Europe that seemed to be expecting big things to happen for Carlo and his boys.

Take away the nerves you had watching that game, look at the numbers in the cold light of a hungover day, and you’ll see it clear as one of those fancy Oriole cocktail ice cubes… we were the better team. Far more prepared, focused, fit, and ready to do the job.

This was a great game of system vs. the individual. The system was the clear winner. Madrid thought they’d show up and the occasion would win the day. That the brand name of Madrid would somehow trump a football system that is both robotic and sentient at the same time. They were wrong and you could see it in their body language—big-name players realising that their voodoo Champions League tricks wouldn’t work on an Arsenal side that was seasoned with flavors shaken from the back of the Diego Simeone spice rack.

I’ve seen Madrid players claiming we didn’t come to play. A touch unfair. Madrid created 0.19 xG in the first half and didn’t have a single shot on target. Arsenal had the best chances, the best passages of play, and always looked like they were in control of prey that seemed to weaken as the game went on.

We certainly had moments in the game that would have been curtains in the past. The first was Arsenal getting an unexpected penalty from a VAR decision. Merino was pulled down in the Madrid area by Asencio from a corner. Most Gooners on the GC said it was soft. Most Gooners have been conditioned to think that yanking someone down in the area isn’t a foul because we’re in an abusive relationship with PGMOL. Saka and Odegaard hovered around the ball—my gut reaction was that both would miss. Saka took it, duffed his panenka, Courtois saved.

I was DEVASTATED. Why did he try that? The English in me screamed at the TV… LEATHER THAT, MATE. He actually said after the game, “You score that, you’re a genius. I might try it again another time.”

Don’t.

Madrid thought that was the moment the game would shift—and they were absolutely wrong. Even though it looked like they might have been right when Mbappe clamped Declan’s arms and won a penalty a few minutes later. The ref blew, pointed to the spot, and gave our shadow leader a yellow. VAR took their sweet time on the decision and… made the ref have a look. Madrid were offside, no penalty. How was this happening at their place? A ref not captivated by a big Spanish team, what was this?

We scored first in the second half. Merino won a long ball. Saka, Odegaard, and Rice fashioned a move that ended with Mikel Merino 10 yards from Madrid’s box. He took a step back to control the ball—while it was moving backwards—then nudged it to Saka like a 12-foot Rory putt at Augusta. Courtois rushed him, but StarMan scooped his foot to the ball first with a delightful chip over him… kind of a panenka, but in real time. Sublime. Fabulous. World class. This from a guy who is three weeks back from the fitness sign-off after surgery. He is incredible.

Arsenal had to make things interesting… so Saliba decided moments later to help out a dreadful Vini Jnr with a goal of his own. He received the ball from Raya, didn’t check his blind spot, was clattered by Vini who loosened the ball from his control and scored into an empty net.

We were only three goals up with 23 minutes to go. Why were we so worried? Madrid looked gassed, as I predicted. There was a moment on the left when Martinelli just stood still with the ball. Vazquez just stood there, stationary, watching him threaten to move. No one pressed. The whole Madrid team seemed utterly beaten. They don’t know how to deal with Arsenal or put collective effort into winning the ball. They know one way to play—that’s to wait for errant passes, and we weren’t really giving them much. If we did… we’d get the ball back pretty damn fast.

The only thing Madrid did that was mildly irritating to our game plan was the constant fouling. Jude, Kylian, and Rudiger have the Virgil golden halo. They would just do as they pleased without consequence. But Thomas Partey? One lash out at the end that was not necessary landed him in the book and out of the first leg against PSG. A bonehead move that infuriated Declan.

Can we just be honest about Jude B? He looked like an Etonian Lee Cattermole. All aggro, very little output, sooooo much whining. Why was he picking on MLS for the second game running? It was a bit embarrassing. Would he cut it in the Premier League? Based on that performance, I’m not sure. He looked way off the pace, physically limited, and just a bit f*cking bland.

I digress… there was still some more to come. Mikel Merino, superstar false 9, was at it again. He slipped Martinelli in with a transition goal for the ages. The Brazilian speed demon ran the length of the pitch and buried his shot across the keeper into the bottom corner to secure two back-to-back wins.

What a win. What a moment in our history. That was the starting gun to something special.

If you can do that to Madrid, home and away… anything is possible.

So what did we learn?

Arsenal boasts two of the most dynamic fullbacks in Europe right now. MLS and Timber aren’t even supposed to be first choice. One is a teenager, the other came back from a shocking injury… but they are unstoppable. They have a low centre of gravity, they use their bodyweight expertly, they scan like Mesut Özil, and their range of passing and ball-carrying ability is quite outrageous. They aren’t the fastest, they aren’t the strongest, but I can’t help but think they are two of the most intelligent players I’ve seen rocking that position.

Let’s just be super clear here: there’s no better midfielder in the world right now outside Declan Rice. He monstered Madrid last night like he was playing against Burnley reserves. The man is an unstoppable horse, galloping through a field, running rings around meadow cows. He’s a different species. Some sort of genetic mutation concocted by those guys that brought back the dire wolf. Madrid were trying to thread passes through him and he was too quick. They tried to race him and they looked like they had the Lead Weight Mercurial 90s. He was everywhere, the performance was so, so complete.

Our forward three were so mature. Thierry told Saka on air that his favourite part of our wide players’ game was the defensive work. But it was also the aura they gave in forward positions. Every move was a threat, every pass was considered, every risk felt worth it. They weren’t perfect, but they did so much good work.

Mikel Merino was also a king. He coughed up TWO assists. He’s the veteran of that stadium. He didn’t seem to give a fuck about the occasion. I thought he was sensational all game. His control, aggression, and desire made him irrepressible. This football-ugly left-sided 8 is looking like one of the best 9s in the world right now. Staggering that he can drop two assists and a goal in a game like that one. 8 goals and 4 assists is a helluva return.

Final remarks go to Mikel Arteta. Someone on YouTube told me that The AOP podcast was great before I started saying things like ‘he’s a top 3 coach in Europe right now’… and I just want to tell that guy, GET IN THE BIN MATE. No doubt in my mind we have the best coach in the final four of the Champions League and I would say he’s second only to Pep in the Premier League. What he’s done this season, with a depleted squad, is nothing short of a miracle. He always finds a solution and I’m convinced that even with his load management weirdness, we’ll win major trophies. Beating a full-strength Madrid home and away with Mikel Merino as a 9 and Jakub Kiwior as centre back will go down as one of the great depleted victories of the decade. I hope all those YouTubers that wanted him out in Jan get right in the sea and keep on swimming.

Quick round-up… PSG are the semi-final opponent. We have to navigate a Crystal Palace who will be dreaming of an FA Cup semi against Villa (at Selhurst Park) when they play us on the Wednesday. No way are they going to spend 90 minutes chasing Arsenal around. Expect heavy rotations. Then, because we’re NOT in the FA Cup that weekend, we’ll have time off. Arteta needs to resist the urge to overtrain when he can rest.

The other semi-final is Inter vs Bayern. The Italians weren’t as defensive as I feared. Both teams gave up chances. But Inter downed Bayern in the end, despite two Spurs players scoring for them. Barca are very open, I’d take them over Inter if we got to the final every day of the week. Let’s see if we can beat PSG first. They battered Liverpool and scored 5 past Villa. That’ll be a tough game. But slaying three English teams on the way to the final would be some headline for Lucho after getting the ‘get us working as a team’ job description.

One last point… no way Arteta is letting Adidas get away with NOT giving Arsenal another black away kit next season. Right?

Ok, that’s me done. Sign up to the membership to get the On The Whistle. x