Cesc took the game by the scruff of the neck and picked up the ball near the centre circle. He drove past a few challenges before arrowing a daisy-cutter towards the bottom corner

Match Review – Ac Milan 0 Arsenal 2 – Champions League

Fan-bloody-tastic. That was quite possibly the most complete performance from an Arsenal side in Europe ever. Even more than the 5-1 battering of Inter in 2003 (a scoreline embellished by three late goals); more than the Henry-inspired, history-making win at the Bernabeu in 2006; and just shading the 2-0 victory of Juve later on that season. Yet as I type this a few hours after the final whistle, I’m not feeling any of the overwhelming euphoria that I felt after those victories. Instead I simply feel that this is the start of something, not the climax. And I don’t just mean in the short-term either; I honestly believe that this could be the springboard to great things in Europe for years to come.

The aforementioned victories against Inter, Real and Juve were so sweet because they were so surprising, and while there is no doubting that we were underdogs against Milan, most Gooners (myself included) were quietly confident of victory. Because we are so desperate to win the league this season having led the table for so long, it is inevitable that nerves kick in during Premiership games. But here in Europe against the holders on their own patch, it was as if the lads went out with a sense of freedom, a sense that they were able to enjoy the game, much like we were doing domestically in the first few months of the season before it dawned on us that a league title was a real possibility. And it was that enjoyment and youthful zest for the game that ultimately outlasted Milan’s more battle-hardened veterans.

The only change for the game was an expected one: Eboue returned from his domestic suspension to replace Theo. This of course saw a tactical re-jig whereby Alex moved from the wing into a central position. During the course of the day I’d debated whether it would be wiser to start Theo on the left instead of Diaby as the youngster’s pace could trouble Milan’s ageing backline more than Diaby’s general lackadaisical play, but in hindsight Le Boss made the correct decision to err on the side of caution. I missed the Villa game but have heard that Diaby had a bit of a stinker, so fair play to him for putting in a decent performance tonight and justifying Wenger’s selection. Milan lined up with a much more adventurous outlook than they did at the Emirates, which came as no surprise because they knew they would have to outscore us to progress. They were missing an important cog in Clarence Seedorf and decided to replace him with Pippo Inzaghi, who partnered young Brazilian Pato up-front with the ever-dangerous Kaka floating behind.

The home side shaded it in the first twenty minutes, and that was as much joy as they had all night. Their most dangerous avenue was set pieces and we looked very shaky at times, failing to clear the ball decisively. Milan had a stream of about 3 or 4 corners in quick succession but we managed to ride the storm, the hairiest moment coming when a ball was flicked on at the near post and a combination of Cesc and Manuel kept it from going over the line. Big Phil – still reeling from his own goal on the weekend no doubt – found himself in a couple of tricky situations where he was ultimately saved by a team-mate. This first came when a cross from the left floated over his head and found Inzaghi at the back stick, but his tame volley was comfortably saved by Almunia, and then Gael spared the Swiss Tony’s blushes after he inadvertently headed the ball into Inzaghi’s path just before the Italian was about to fire goalwards.

Things were not looking too solid at the back, but once we weathered the early Milan onslaught, it was a completely different game. Last season the Mancs went to the San Siro and went two-down within no time at all, so it was imperative that we did not do the same. Once we passed the first test of not conceding early, we grew as the half went on. Clear-cut chances, however, were few and far between, despite assuming total control of the midfield. Cesc and the Flamster were absolutely everywhere, dispelling the notion that one midfielder must sit and do the doggy work whilst the other can strut his stuff higher up the pitch. The pair did both jobs equally well, completely outshining the Milan triumvirate of Gattuso, Ambrosini and Pirlo. The latter in particular had a shocker, thanks in no small part to our own midfield dynamos who hustled and harried every ball.

Our first chances came from distance on the left. The first occasion saw Ade do some sterling work in holding the ball up before eventually squaring to Cesc who laid it on further to Diaby. The onrushing PV4-clone opened his body up and looked to bend it like Bergkamp into the top corner but could not curl it back enough. The second effort was more reminiscent of The King as Ade cut in from the left-wing and sold his marker a few dummies before unleashing a shot that was tipped over by the Milan keeper. Things were definitely hotting up as half-time drew nearer. Just past the half-hour mark, Hleb embarked on yet another mazy dribble and the Milan defenders were left dumbfounded. In the end it was up to Nesta to foul the Belarusian on the edge of the box, but amazingly the ref called it as a dive and brandished a yellow card to Alex. A shoddy decision that proved the ref was definitely a homer.

But if you thought that injustice was going to signal a shift in the momentum, you were wrong. Instead we just kept going at them, and it was only a matter of minutes later when Ade was marooned on the left touchline but did fabulously to cut inside two defenders before teeing up Cesc. The young Spaniard had a few shots blocked earlier in the half but got this one away quickly and the ball crashed against the crossbar and bounced to safety. Was it going to be one of those days? Were we going to squander chances left, right and centre, thus allowing Milan to sneak one at the end and knock “plucky yet unlucky” Arsenal out?

The way the second-half began, you would have been forgiven for thinking that. Instead of Milan coming out and trying to exert some control and seniority over the match, it was us who continued to make the running. I’m forever bemoaning our lack of threat at set-pieces, yet we could – nay, should – have gone ahead from a corner. The ball made all its way back to the far post following a flick-on where Big Phil was arriving. Undoubtedly caught by surprise, all he could do was shin it straight into the keeper’s hands with the goal gaping. And then just five minutes later we fashioned the clearest chance of the game. The ball was neatly worked through the midfield and Eboue had got into some space on the overlap. Ade spread the ball across to him on the right and as he advanced you just knew he wasn’t going to score as he snatched his shot and skewed it wide of the near post. Ah Emmanuel Eboue…no player has ever caused as much consternation amongst the Arsenal faithful. If he was crap but tried his heart out and was honest, we would forgive him. But because he is talented yet with little end-product and a theatrical (nasty?) side, he is often scapegoated for anything and everything. At times it is warranted but at times it is not. Despite his antics however, I am a fan of his because he lends such a wonderful balance to a very narrow side and provides a lot of defensive and offensive strength down the right, linking up very well with Sagna. Unfortunately I think he has made a name for himself with referees now and was harshly booked for a minor foul on Maldini.

Despite the chances going begging at the start of the half, it was not one-way traffic. Milan looked threatening from set-pieces where Pirlo provided a constant menace. In fact I’d probably say that at no stage in the second-half did we match our tempo and play at the end of the first-half. The second period was a slightly more scrappy midfield battle, but with a major difference: we’d started to create chances. In fact there were times where I felt we dawdled too much instead of being decisive: opting for an extra square ball when a cross or shot would have been the more obvious alternative. It was no surprise then that the introduction of Theo played a part in changing the course of the game. While he didn’t have too many touches or attacking moments in his twenty minutes, when he did get the ball he was a real thorn in Milan’s side. With fifteen minutes to go we won a corner that was cleared. The second ball fell to Cesc who chipped a ball over the top of Milan’s defence to the back-post where Walcott lurked. His first touch was good but instead of shooting he opted for a square ball where Gallas was waiting to apply the finishing touch but the big Milan keeper stuck his big beastly leg in the way and the danger subsided.

At the other end of the pitch Pato looked to get in on the act as he twisted and jinked his way into a shooting opportunity which was deflected wide by Senderos. The referee did not give a corner though, and from his homer performance in the first-half it looked like we were finally getting the rub of the green. Could we grab a late goal to go with it?

You betcha. Cesc took the game by the scruff of the neck and picked up the ball near the centre circle. He drove past a few challenges before arrowing a daisy-cutter towards the bottom corner. The keeper seemed slow to react and by the time he got there the ball was nestling in the bottom corner. Or was it? A split-second after it went in I was loathe to celebrate because I was unsure whether it had just hit the netting behind the goal, but upon seeing Cesc wheel away I knew it was time I did the same. One-nil to the Arsenal and the tie was all but over.

I didn’t want us to concede, primarily because it would cause unnecessary palpitations in injury time but also because I wanted us to become the first English team to triumph away to the majestic Milan. Call me greedy, but I wanted a victory for the record books. And this was confirmed deep into stoppage time when Theo latched on to a long-ball down the right, got there before his man and skipped around the incoming sliding tackle. He was clean through on the right and I had an eerie flashback to when Jeremie Aliadiere was clean through against Inter all those years ago during same stage of the match. That time he squared it to Bobi Pires who bundled it in to put the cherry on top of the icing on the cake, and this time Theo showed a great deal of maturity and vision in spotting an unmarked Ade arriving at the back-post. He spurned the chance to play a more simple cutback to Cesc and instead sidefooted a beautifully-weighted square pass across the six-yard box for Ade to slot home for his first Champions League goal for The Arse. Game well and truly over, and history made.

Awesome individual performances all over the pitch which all melded together to give an almost-perfect team performance in the most testing of scenarios. The back-line was solid yet unspectacular – something that says a lot about the midfield who absolutely dominated proceedings. They barely allowed Kaka a chance to run at the defence, winning the ball early and high up the pitch. And when Kaka did have a go at the defence, we mopped up with relative ease, especially Sagna and Gallas. The middle trio of Flam, Cesc and Alex linked up superbly with triangles and one-touch passing that befuddled the Milan middlemen. Out wide Diaby and Eboue offered something very different but did their jobs decently regardless, whilst Theo came on and cranked it up a notch. Up-front Ade did well in holding the ball up whilst the midfield joined him and he was certainly helped by the fact that he wasn’t as isolated up on his own as he sometimes has been this season. He was rewarded with a goal at the end which lifted three jinxes: it was his debut European goal in the red and white of Arsenal; it banished the memories of his missed sitter at the death of the first-leg; and it was his first goal since he cut his hair.

Top Gun should really go to two players today: Cesc and Flam. In fact it should go to their partnership. But in the end I have to give it to Cesc who showed that he has added more strings to his bow with a couple of excellent defensive challenges on Kaka along with a return to his early season goalscoring exploits. Some quarters of the press were saying that he needed to step up his game if we were to have any chance of progressing, well he duly did so and then some.

Speaking of the press, isn’t it funny how they’re all lauding us because we’re the first ENGLISH team to beat Milan away? I’m sorry, are we an ENGLISH team now that we’ve achieved something historic? Yet on most days we’re the foul bunch of foreigners who don’t know how to lose gracefully? Well I’ve got a message for the press: you can stick your kudos up your arse.

Who would have thunk it eh? Average form in the league, followed up by a daunting trip to a place where no English team had ever won. Sound familiar? Think back two years ago when we turned the history books on its head to win at the Bernabeu: a victory and performance which sp*rred us on to some truly magical moments in the Club’s history. Whatever the result here against Milan, the performance over the two legs had proven to the rest of Europe that this Arsenal side had come of age. Some people probably think that our run two years ago was a bit of fluke. But you can’t say that anymore about this bunch. We’ve come of age domestically through the course of the season (one defeat in 28 games says it all), and even if we don’t end up winning the title this season you know we will be a force in the future. And now we’ve come of age in Europe. However this Champions League campaign ends up, there is no doubting that we will be one of the big boys in years to come. No longer are we just “Little Arsenal” who play pretty football and rely on one man to carry us on his shoulders. The kids have now graduated: The Arsenal have arrived at Europe’s top table, and are hungry for more.