March 2017. Ed Sheeran topped the charts with "Shape of You", Teresa May triggered Article 50 as Britain began its post-Brexit fugue, and Arsenal exited the Champions League in humiliating fashion, losing 5-1 at home to Bayern Munich to complete a chastening 10-2 aggregate defeat. Back then, Arsenal fans took their club's place in the competition for granted. Go through the motions in the group stage, lose to Bayern Munich/Barcelona in the round of 16, rinse and repeat.
Two months later, Arsène Wenger's side failed to qualify for the competition for the first time in two decades. After being a fixture at Europe's top table for so long, most Arsenal fans at the time were content enough with spending a gap-year in the Europa League, they'd be back at the top table soon enough, right? RIGHT??
As it turned out, Arsenal loved their time Europe's second-tier competition so much that they decided to stick around for five out of the next six seasons (choosing to do without Europe entirely in 21/22). They went to Qarabag and everywhere, from Prague to Piraeus (x3), Borisov to Baku, as north London became the number one destination on Thursday nights.
On Wednesday night, Arsenal's Europa League exile came to end. The home crowd roared as the strains of the Champions League anthem reverberated round Emirates Stadium for the first time in six-and-a-half years, 57,000 home supporters warmly greeting an old friend after years of enforced absence. For some supporters: those in their early teens or younger, seeing the starball in the centre circle and on the sleeve patches of the players, hearing "die meister, die Besten, les grandes équipes" ringing around the ground and seeing the advertising hoardings wrapped in electric-blue rather than Europa amber and black, will have been a brand new experience. For the majority, however, this was a paradoxical situation. Familiar, but different.
Most of us had seen Arsenal play in the Champions League before, but none of us had sung "The Angel" (North London Forever) beforehand. None of us had seen Bukayo Saka play for Arsenal in the Champions League, nor Martin Ødegaard, nor William Saliba, nor anyone in the current first-team squad besides Mohamed Elneny. Mikel Arteta was still playing the last time that Arsenal had finished in the top four before last season, now he was about to become only the second man after Arsene Wenger to manage Arsenal in the competition. Old competition. New era.
The anthem reached its conclusion and the crowd let out a second roar, some unable to resist the urge to scratch a six year itch and belt out the "THE CHAMPIONSSSS". To steal a phrase from a popular Arsenal podcaster: you never arrive in football, but on Wednesday night, the old maxims were thrown out of the window. Arsenal had reached their destination after years of being denied entry to the most exclusive club in European football and it was time for the fans and players to drink it in.
Another classic from the catalogue of football cliches is to play the game not the occasion, but on Wednesday night, occasion and game melded into one. Thanks to a quirk of the draw, Arsenal's first night back in the big time saw them play a familiar opponent, perhaps this was UEFA's way of not wanting to overwhelm the London club under the bright lights of the Champions League. Arsenal and PSV played out a dress rehearsal of this fixture 11 months prior – that is, a dress rehearsal in which most of the cast were changed for being 'too Europa League' in Arsenal's case and were poached by the sharks of the Premier League in PSV's; just five players (Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus for Arsenal; Walter Benitez and Joey Veerman for PSV) survived from the two starting line-ups from the Europa League meeting back in October.
A noticeable change in Arsenal's play this season is the level of tension that comes with the expectation of challenging the juggernaut that is Manchester City for the Premier League title, unfamiliar territory for the club. At the start of last season there was a lightness to Arsenal's play as the young team played without fear, far exceeding expectation by leading the way in the Premier League in the first half of the season and simply enjoying the ride as a result.
On Wednesday night, the carefree vitality of August-January 2022 returned to Arsenal's game. The players breathed out, their shoulders sunk, and, inspired by the occasion, they put on a show. It was fitting that Saka should score the first goal of the club's new Champions League era. A little under five years ago, he made his debut in a Europa League group match away to Ukrainian club Vorskla Poltava, which was moved to Kiev and played in front of about 7,000 spectators after Poltava was placed under martial law. More than anyone else, even the effervescent Ødegaard, he has become the emblem of Arsenal's revival from crisis club of the year to the envy of Europe.
PSV's high-pressing, front-footed approach made a nice to change to the likes of Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Manchester United coming to the Emirates and putting 11 men behind the ball and holding on for dear life. The fearlessness of Peter Bosz's side was admirable but at times bordered on naivety, as was the case for the second goal, as Gabriel Jesus was able to turn his man on the halfway line and find himself one-on-one with the last defender, with Leandro Trossard eventually capping off the move with a low, drilled finish evoking memories of Champions League nights of yore with its similarity to Andrey Arshavin against Barcelona all those years ago.
Jesus, back to his relentless best reminded the Emirates of his other-worldly technical ability with his control and finish to make it three before the break, leading tens of thousands of people on the concourse at halftime to collectively remark "this Champions League is business is easy!"
The second half was as much an exercise in giving the less heralded members of the squad their flowers as it was a football match. Takehiro Tomiyasu, who joined the club two years ago when Arsenal were rock bottom of the league, was given a Champions League debut. So was Emile Smith Rowe, whose introduction provoked the third non-goal-related roar of the night. Ødegaard capped the sort of masterful performance that he has made routine with a trademark strike from the edge of the box.
As the clock ticked down and the monsoon outside continued, no one wanted the game to end. It was shame that UEFA don't adhere to the same injury time protocols as the Premier League, a measly three added minutes felt cruel on a joyful and stress-free night, feelings that are the antithesis of the white hot intensity that will be felt on Sunday when new-look Tottenham roll in to town, but further thoughts on the derby can wait. (I heard that Wednesday night’s episode of MasterChef: The Professionals was a belter, so I'm sure their fans had a good night too). For one night, and one night only, Arsenal had arrived.