It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, and the pairs of goals scored could hardly have been more disparate. But it was 2-0 to the Arsenal again in completing the second leg of both this Champions League tie and one of the more pivotal weeks of Quadrupling.
With Everton and Bayer Leverkusen dispatched, attention immediately turns to the Carabao Cup final with Manchester City on Sunday. A win at Wembley combined with their position of Premier League supremacy, an almost flawless European record and an uncanny ability to land plum FA Cup draws has turned the impossible into the mere improbable for Arsenal.
And in this mood and form it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a cogent case against them pulling it off.
Arsenal will not be able to ride the crest of the wave generated by The Max Dowman Moment from now until May. But it is clear to see that goal meant far more than simply doubling their lead in a game that was already won. It has invigorated them, reenergised their collective spirit in a way a 1-0 win through a Viktor Gyokeres tap-in alone couldn’t have.
The mood at the Emirates felt different; that mild anxiety which has underpinned many of their games had tangibly shifted.
“I think it’s very inspiring when you see someone, almost naive, making decisions, and flowing, and careless playing in that manner, in that context,” Arteta said of a 16-year-old whose presence on the bench at the Emirates was a distraction for some. But the manager practiced what he was at pains to preach about needing to “bring the temperature down”, making five changes without introducing Dowman even when a quarter-final place was secured.
“It’s great, and I think probably our players realised as well,” Arteta added of the effect that record-breaking weekend cameo had. “It’s a good example – playing with that flow and enthusiasm is actually very beneficial for the team.”
It was here, with the set-piece obsessive, open-play obviating game-ruiners scoring two goals of exceptional quality on an evening in which the Premier League’s other two representatives completed 5-1 and 8-2 defeats on aggregate.
Eberechi Eze’s opener was absurd, a thunderous strike on the turn hit with the hitherto uncomprehended venom of a man realising he won’t get to play Spurs again this season.
Declan Rice’s goal to consolidate that lead on the hour was sublime, a gentle and deceptive caress into the bottom corner, kissing the post as it passed the excellent but stranded Janis Blaswich.
Both players were signed from the Conference League to excel on the Champions League stage. Arteta must be hoping Chelsea finish 7th so he can combine two of his favourite transfer compulsions.
Those goals furnished a performance not of complete freedom, but certainly of a little more individualism seeping through the precious few cracks of Arteta’s shapes, patterns and processes.
Eze produced some glorious flicks beyond his first career Champions League goal. Viktor Gyokeres, although he didn’t score, enjoyed possibly his strongest all-round display yet, connecting fully with the attack rather than existing awkwardly outside of it. It was Bukayo Saka’s best game in months.
There was even time for David Raya to conjure, as he is wont to do, a glorious save when conceding at 3-1 up on aggregate in the 87th minute would have been sub-optimal.
Leverkusen had their moments but Arsenal weathered that gentle rain masterfully.
And while the sixth-best team in Germany does not make for the fairest comparison with the sides first and second in France and Spain respectively, Arsenal progressing while Chelsea floundered and Manchester City whimpered made for an interesting contrast.
If they have ruined the overall quality of the Premier League, how neat a trick it is to drag everyone’s levels down domestically while maintaining their own new-found European stride.
Sporting await in the next round, a side they beat 5-1 away last season before signing their striker for £64m. It will not be easy, but for once Arsenal actually made it look relatively so at the Emirates on Tuesday evening while their humbled rivals toiled. The Quadruple isn’t for everyone.
