It could be over for Arsenal. No. I mean, seriously, it could be over. For a team that had worn the same colors as the Yellow Submarines from Spain, what did they expect? To torpedo right through the Milanese waters? No. They sank deeper, and deeper…and deeper. Four times, their fans saw the progression dreams go up in smoke. Four times, it felt like a slow burning inferno.
The Gunners had the majority of possession, but clearly didn’t know what to do with it. They had an equal number of shots on target like AC Milan, but the North Londoners produced only one of note; a lovely chip by departing Thierry Henry to his successor, Robin van Persie, whose blistering shot had keeper Christian Abbiati in full stretch.
The hope that had assembled in the hearts and minds of many Arsenal fans quickly left out of the window leaving its clothes behind. This was a team that only four years ago, had given the Italian giants a lesson in football, as it became the first English club to get out of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium with a victory. This time round, they were given a hiding, a goal for each year since that 2-0 Arsenal win.
That performance was despicable, utterly miserable. This was a team that prides itself playing Barcelonesque kind of football. Expansive they may have been, clueless was the end result. They young of puffed and became restless, but for the old of Milan, everything was turning out beautiful.
Arsene Wenger and his youthful team certainly have a knack for been given lessons. Last night’s will be one that reminds everyone why the Gunners remain trophy-less for the umpteenth time. Their quarter-finals hill has undoubtedly become a mountain to climb.
Not that it’s become impossible. No. The hopeful may call upon the spirit of Deportivo la Coruna in the second leg. This Spaniards beat Milan 4-0 at the Estadio Riazor, having lost 4-1 to the Rossoneri at the San Siro in the 2004 quarter-finals first leg. But the manner in which the Gunners were ripped apart last night may take more than a Spanish thesis by Professor Wenger. It’s simply difficult to see this team turning it around in three weeks’ time.
4-0 was the scoreline as Milan produced a La Tormenta. Kevin Prince Boateng fired in a stunning volley dripping with finesse, to give the hosts the lead. A sumptuous attacking display was to be the hallmark of a Robinho brace, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic rounded off an incredible individual performance from the spot.
It wasn’t the manner in which the legendary Henry may have wished to sign off, as his team was given a rout that was about to turn cataclysmic. But as he looks forward to watching the second leg from his New York hub, he’ll be wishing that his last act was a dream, not the nightmare it turned out to be.
That was a sumptuous display of attacking football by Silvio Berlusconi’s toy, as the seven-time European winners look for trophy number eight. They now have one big foot in the last eight. As for the Gunners, it’s back to the FA Cup this weekend, with the hope that the ghost of cup failure will be nowhere to be seen.
The Gunners were simply Gunned down.
Results-Wednesday, 15th February
AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal, Giuseppe Meazza, Milano
Zenit 3-2, Benfica, Stadion Petrovskij, St. Petersburg
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