A Libson recap

Morning.

I’m back from Lisbon, so first up thanks to Andrew and Lewis for filling in on the blog for the last couple of days. What a great city it is, and I have to say the people were so welcoming and friendly, but I strongly suspect my view of its excellence was bolstered by what we saw on the pitch on Tuesday night. It’s unquestionably somewhere I want to go back to for other reasons, but when you win a Champions League game 5-1, it cements your view that this is a good place.

I thought the build-up to the game inside the Estadio Jose Alvalade was quite interesting. It felt almost like a party atmosphere. They played ‘Sweet Caroline’, far from my favourite song, but the association for me is that it’s more a post-game celebration thing. Their fans got into it, the Arsenal fans joined in, and it all felt very friendly. Like an 80th birthday party for a favourite grandparent. It wasn’t at all intimidating. Which isn’t a complaint, just an observation.

About 15 minutes in, with Arsenal at least one goal to the good, the ‘Ultras’ section at the other end of the ground from us tried to put on some kind of pyro display. I don’t really know what it was, but it looked as if they set fire to about 14 newspapers, which burnt for a bit in no particular pattern, before dropping embers on the people below. I don’t know if that was supposed to be intimidating, but it wasn’t. Setting your own fans alight doesn’t seem that smart. There was laughter in the away section.

Then there were the fireworks, fired over the pitch from the lower tier of the end the Arsenal fans were in. They exploded over David Raya’s head, and I was a bit surprised the ref didn’t stop the game. I suspect they’ll get some UEFA punishment for it, but again, it was just a bit tame. They got a bit whistle-y early in the second half with their goal, and taking some exception to what they considered time-wasting, but more Arsenal goals quietened them down again.

“We want more fireworks … we want more fireworks”, sang the away fans. Then they let off a flare which belched a load of grey/green smoke over one corner of the ground. Once more, it was just a bit weird. Like a lad at a party who tries to light a fart, but sets his pants on fire and shits himself in the process. Did that sum up the Sporting performance? Perhaps. Maybe their incredible run at home until we dismantled them saw far more impressive fireworks and pyrotechnics, but either way, if they were seen to be bad, it was far more about how good Arsenal were.

Back to front, man for man, I thought we were superb. We played with an intent right from the start, and it paid dividends. I know this season has been stop/start, hit and miss, however you want to frame it – and I know there have been some obvious reasons for that (red cards, suspensions, injuries, a difficult schedule). I have got the sense that for some people, it has shaken their faith in the side a bit, but I think this week is – for me anyway – far more representative of what I believe this team is capable of.

You don’t do what we did last season by accident. Especially with a manager who leaves little to chance. Have we been as good? Obviously not, but does that mean we’re incapable of turning things around? Not for me. The key now is sustaining this level. It helps when we have some key players back, one key player in particular who we don’t really need to discuss because it’s already been done. However, while I think Martin Odegaard helps lift those around him in a significant way, he’s not a one man band. Maybe he’s the conductor, but the others have to play their parts too, and they did that on Tuesday.

I think it’s been a good week for the team and the squad. We made changes against a high-flying Forest side and won comfortably. We went away to a team that hadn’t lost at home since October 2023 and battered them – and I think that’s significant. We haven’t been convincing away from home in Europe, so it feels like the kind of result and performance these players really needed to instill belief and confidence. Not to mention changing the perception of Arsenal in European competition. It’s one game, I know, but it wasn’t just a scrappy win, it was, as Mikel Arteta said afterwards, a bit of a statement. It’s up to us to follow it up with more of the same, but you have to jump the first hurdle before clearing all the rest.

So, it’ll be interesting to see what the manager does with his team for Saturday’s game with West Ham, especially with Man Utd in midweek too. He might give us a clue in his press conference this morning which we’ll cover for you over on Arseblog News. For now, I’ll leave you with an Arsecast, recapping and re-living the fun performance of Tuesday – and you can join us later on Patreon for a West Ham preview podcast too.

For now, have a great Friday.

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