After all the weeks of swimming against the tide, the games when their heads dipped, their bodies felt heavier, Arsenal grasped hold of their Europa League lifebelt and gave themselves a chance of saving their season.
If the latter Wenger years have seen Arsenal drift from challenging for the league, their reinvention as a cup team and ability to conjure one-off performances of the calibre that make you wonder why they cannot do this more often, remains intact. They came to Milan and played like a team determined not to take any more punishment. They reminded their critics – and perhaps even themselves – that on their day they can produce a meaningful win.
What a tonic for the pressurised Arsène Wenger, whose capacity to believe his team can dig their way out of any hole is boundless. The strain had been obvious around the Arsenal squad as they travelled to Milan weighed down by crumpled form and cracked confidence. Somehow the colour returned, happiness began to course through the team and rhythm clicked back. Wenger had urged his team to remember how good they were and his players had the courage to show that – instantly the passes became slicker, the tackles more resilient, the finishes more precise.
In an extraordinary first half the story tilted from negative spiral to positive spin, as Arsenal took a commanding two-goal lead thanks to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey (both brilliantly assisted by Mesut Özil).
Source:
theguardian
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