After a tumultuous journey that included a disastrous defeat in Baku, Arsenal has finally made their return to the Champions League. The low point for the team came in May 2019 when they were defeated 4-1 by Chelsea in the Europa League final. This loss left them devastated and facing a long road to redemption. However, the team has shown incredible resilience and determination to claw their way back into the prestigious tournament. Their journey serves as a reminder of the ups and downs of football and the power of perseverance..
A warning for the celebration police — there is a red alert at the Emirates.
The long-awaited reconnection with the Champions League anthem under the lights, followed by a rendition of Arsenal’s new hymn “North London Forever”, brings a high threat of excessive emotion. Before a ball is even kicked. All units be prepared.
In all seriousness, if this encapsulates a sentimental moment for Arsenal, that is because its absence has been so keenly felt. Under Arsene Wenger, they had a run of Champions League qualification that lasted almost two decades. This break of six seasons had many stages — shock, anger, depression, acceptance and reconstruction. Those emotions will be distilled into the atmosphere as Arsenal take on an adventurous PSV Eindhoven tomorrow.
To understand the significance of the clamber back to Europe’s most glamorous competition, context comes via a rewind to their most harrowing point.
Baku. Sorry to rake over this again but it does matter as a point of context. In 2019, at the end of Arsenal’s first season in a post-Wenger age, head coach Unai Emery spoke continuously about the double route back into Champions League football. His team were positioned to attack both going into the last month — in contention for a top-four Premier League finish and heading to the final of the Europa League.
They felt fairly confident of succeeding in one or other, if not both. It would have put them back in the Champions League after only two seasons out. Not so bad.
But they collapsed bitterly. Twice over. They stumbled to finish fifth in the league (two points off third) and then humiliated themselves in Baku against Chelsea. The scenes at the end were like watching the burning wreckage of a nightmare. Players were staring into space. Some were in tears. The pervading mood was hopelessness.
So why is Baku such a valuable point of reference? Well, Josh Kroenke — vice chairman of KSE, which owns Arsenal — was in attendance and he remembers having a kind of eureka moment on the plane home. This was not the time to fold, give in, back off. Arsenal had to deal with a squad Kroenke described as “Europa League quality on Champions League wages”.
It was from that low point that the first meaningful decision was made to be enterprising and aim high. He spoke with Emery and other members of the senior leadership team on the plane back to London. He later said: “My main message was, ‘Let’s be aggressive and find out what’s possible’.” In some ways, the roots of a situation that enabled Arsenal to buy Declan Rice for £105million ($130m) this summer were planted on that flight from Azerbaijan.
Four years ago, Arsenal were not in a coherent place. They went into the summer without a technical director, without a head of recruitment, and with a bunch of experienced players all walking away for nothing at the end of their contracts. The fans were in revolt, and significant numbers grouped together to form the #WeCareDoYou movement to put pressure on the hierarchy. Around 175,000 supporters added their names to a campaign calling for more responsible and proactive custodianship of the club. Ambition, aggression, and finding out what was possible seemed to belong to a long-lost planet.
Yet, despite such an unpromising situation, that summer was the first of a new era of backing. Arsenal spent north of £100million — way over the initial projected budget. Not all of those who came in were hits, for all sorts of reasons, but among the signings were Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, and Kieran Tierney, who went on to play major roles in kickstarting the Arteta era.
Arteta was appointed later that year. It took several windows and a complete change of mindset to deep clean the squad. The rebuild brings Arsenal to where they are now — the next best qualifiers from England for this edition of the Champions League after the holders. Last season’s Premier League runners-up, who have spent audaciously to try to make themselves stronger this time around.
They will need to be much more resourceful if they want to simultaneously thrive in a competitive Eurozone and keep pushing in the Premier League.
Returning to Europe’s premier club competition reflects the adage that the best things in life are worth waiting for — even if the wait is painful, irritating, and, when certain other teams make finals while you are in the wilderness, completely nauseating.
Expectations ought to be mixed. Arsenal are fourth favourites to win the competition with some bookmakers, which is surprising given their Champions League exile.
The group draw has been kind, and qualification is achievable. Then the knockouts will be a new test of the mental, physical and tactical makeup of Arteta’s evolving Arsenal squad.
This is uncharted territory for the majority of the players and the manager, who will be pitting his wits against a sharper challenge and managing resources in the intense rhythms of midweek Champions League matches. It is a cocktail of the demanding, daunting and thrilling. For youngsters such as Bukayo Saka, Saliba and Martinelli, the prospect of shining on this stage is a significant new part of their football ambition.
This is a quantum leap for the majority at Arsenal this season. Arteta’s European experience as a manager is not outstanding. Defeat at home to Olympiacos ended his first season of Europa League football. The following season, Arsenal went out to Emery’s Villarreal. Last season, Sporting Lisbon knocked them out at the Emirates on penalties. It is not an auspicious record.
Arteta’s Arsenal are a team who get high on emotional fumes regularly. They are driven by a sense that anything could happen, no matter the circumstances.
Arsenal went to hell and Baku while they were out of the Champions League. Now, thank heavens, they can’t wait to get back to it.
(Top photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s return to the Champions League after a six-year absence is seen as a significant milestone for the club. Their failure to qualify for the competition was a low point in 2019, but it prompted a change in mentality and a commitment to being aggressive and ambitious. The club invested heavily in new players and underwent a rebuild under manager Mikel Arteta. Now, with their return to the Champions League, Arsenal faces a new challenge in proving themselves on the European stage. It is a significant opportunity for young players and a chance for the club to showcase their progress under Arteta.
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