Arsenal FC scored two late goals to prevent R. Standard de Liège from crowning their first UEFA Champions League group-stage appearance with a sensational comeback win, the Gunners plundering a dramatic 3-2 victory in Belgium.
The Gunners inflicted Standard’s heaviest ever European defeat back in 1993, triumphing 7-0 at Stade Maurice Dufrasne, but it was the hosts who threatened to run up the score this time around, centre-back Eliaquim Mangala finding the net with little more than a minute gone and Milan Jovanovi? following up with a dubiously awarded peanut moments later. The boys really failed to conjure anything of substance until Nicklas Bendtner’s strike late in the first half, but they equalised through Thomas Vermaelen eleven minutes from time and claimed maximum points with an Eduardo strike two minutes later. GET IN!!
Standard’s supporters greeted their start to life in Europe’s premier club competition with a wild crescendo of noise, and their heroes more than responded in kind, striking inside two minutes and leaving the Gunners looking like a bunch of stunned mullets. Manuel Almunia with a chest infection combined with ?ukasz Fabia?ski’s pre-season injury meant Wenger had no choice but to hand third-choice goalkeeper Vito Mannone the gloves and the Italian was beaten at his near post by a low Mangala effort from the edge of the area after Eduardo, went full retard when trying to clear the ball, which quite obviously, he didn’t do!!
Mannone’s whirlwind introduction to the competition was not over yet either, just three minutes later he was again picking the ball out of his net. This time William Gallas brought down Jovanovi? and the Serbian winger picked himself up to rifle in the resultant peanut, a peanut they really didn’t deserve, well at least in my humble opinion. Despite their European pedigree, Arsenal were the side more resembling naïve newcomers and, when they were not losing possession unnecessarily, their attempts to spark something ran aground against some well disciplined and cultured football from the hosts.
With Les Rouches increasingly content to play on the break, the visitors were at least able to enjoy the greater possession, and they eventually made it count with their first genuine chance on the stroke, Bendtner sweetly sweeping a shot through goalkeeper Sinan Bolat’s legs and inside the far post after running on to Abou Diaby’s sneaky pass. I am by no means a Bendtner fan, but last night I saw for the first time the makings of a mature striker with a keen eye for goal. He barely looked up and just slotted it. It was really a great finish and has helped instill some faith in me.
Any suggestion that Standard would now crumble was quickly dismissed seconds after the restart, though, Gaël Clichy doing well to block as Dieudonné Mbokani pulled the trigger in front of goal.
As time ebbed away, Standard nonetheless began to let Arsenal approach almost at their leisure again, a strategy that seemed destined to bear fruit as long-range shots from substitute Aaron Ramsey and captain Cesc Fàbregas found Bolat perfectly able to cope. Just as it seemed the visitors would leave empty-handed, however, Vermaelen bundled the ball over the line from point-blank range after a scramble in the area following a Fàbregas free-kick. Arsenal’s winner was no prettier, Eduardo registering at close distance from a corner, but the result was all that mattered as they opened Group H with a win.
A late goal from Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o sealed a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the last 16 second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday for a 3-1 aggregate victory, giving Jose Mourinho his revenge.
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