Where does Arsenal's win over Real Madrid rank in their history?
From the safe hands of David Raya in goal, to the confidence and control of Myles Lewis-Skelly stepping into midfield, to Thomas Partey anchoring, Bukayo Saka’s dribbling, Mikel Merino’s finessed finish and Declan Rice’s dead-ball double, Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid was one of the greatest performances in the club’s history. But where does it rank?
Due praise has been lavished on the second-half display in particular, and especially Rice’s stunning free-kicks. Rightly, everyone is caught up in the moment, awash with emotion and an element of shock. Carlo Ancelotti’s left eyebrow seemed almost stuck in a quizzical upward position. His team boasts world-class talents in Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham but were overwhelmed by Arsenal’s mix of determination and dynamism.
A victory like this needs celebrating by placing in its rightful context. So where does Arsenal 3 Real Madrid 0 rank with the great Arsenal performances? It’s only the first leg. Arsenal still have to go to the Bernabeu next week. And it’s only the quarter-finals of the Champions League. For a club of Arsenal’s stature to have only two European trophies, the 1970 Inter-City Fairs Cup and 1994 Cup-Winners’ Cup, is a modest return.
Comparing generations, conditions, competitions, occasions and opposition makes these exercises vulnerable to subjectivity, recency bias and occasional forgetfulness. I’ve missed some Cup finals out. I’m also taking the list from 1970 onwards, so apologies to the distant memory of Arsenal’s all-conquering 1930s sides.
But 1970 seems a fair starting point, the era of Bob Wilson, Frank McLintock, George Graham and Charlie George. Of Arsenal’s 31 trophies, 21 have come since then (and I’m ignoring Charity/Community Shields).
Arsenal 3 Real Madrid 0 was magnificent, but I’d argue there were 15 more memorable, significant games. Where to start? Perhaps, fittingly, against Real.
15. Arsenal became the first English team to win in the Bernabeu on a special night in 2006, the decisive moment coming from some Thierry Henry virtuoso magic. Arsenal were depleted, struggling domestically, up against David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo and all the Galacticos. And won.
14. Lee Dixon and Tony Adams were amongst Arsenal’s successful penalty-takers in the 1995 Cup-Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg against Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Sampdoria. I was there, having survived a memorable lunch at a stunning cliff-edge Genoa restaurant suggested by David Platt, who was at Sampdoria at the time. Another English David, Seaman, was immense in the shootout, saving three penalties.
13. More goalkeeping heroics: Jens Lehmann defying Villarreal at El Madrigal helped Arsenal reach the 2006 final. The German keeper even saved a late Riquelme penalty on a night of sheer guts by Arsenal. So many golden nights.