Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal

“King Juan Carlos, Seve Ballasteros, Don Quixote, General Franco, Seat Ibiza, Zorro (?), your boys took a hell of a beating…”

OK, OK, so we’re only half way there, there’s so much more to do, but come on, let’s seize the moment just for a while. That performance was immense, absolutely immense, and in a season where things have so often not gone to plan, that was pure nectar. It’s still soaking in now, and boy, does it feel good.

Every Arsenal player deserves the highest praise, from the young lads – Eboue, Fabregas, Senderos, Flamini, Reyes, Hleb – to the older heads, all of whom played their part in one of Arsenal’s finest European victories of all time.

It’s harsh to pick out one player over another, but I’m going to, and it’s not our captain either, whose goal was breathtaking. For me, Cesc Fabregas, all 18 years of him, was truly magnificent. A Barcelona boy needs no further motivation than playing in the enemy’s back yard, and so it proved.

Best of all, we played so well in addition to winning, and that, above all else, will please Arsenal fans the world over.

It’s nice to have our Arsenal back.

Let’s push on from here.