EMIRATES STADIUM — It’s not ideal when the Europa League group stage starts to feel like respite. For teams like Arsenal, this stretch of the competition is meant to be thin, watery gruel, not life-saving sustenance.
With one win in their last six games in the Premier League – a run in which they have scored just two goals – the arrival of Rapid Vienna felt liberating. So too did the presence of 2,000 fans at the Emirates, making Arsenal the first Premier League club to host spectators at a competitive fixture since football was suspended in March.
The night started with the entire Arsenal team applauding the carefully dispersed home support, a gesture which set the tone for a game in which fans and players were on the same page. After so long away, there was no room for acrimony over recent results and the disparate crowd generated an atmosphere which belied their limited numbers.
This may not have been a game of huge significance, but it meant something to those in attendance. Even on a freezing December evening, there was a genuine warmth inside the stadium which, after an enforced nine-month exile for supporters, said everything that needed to be said.
In the reverse fixture at the Allianz Stadion, Rapid had given Arsenal the toughest test of their European campaign so far. This was more straightforward for Mikel Arteta’s side, who had all but qualified for the knockout stages before a ball had even been kicked.
That didn’t stop them from putting on a show, Alexandre Lacazette scoring the opener on the 10-minute mark after unleashing a swerving shot from distance which wrong-footed Rapid keeper Richard Strebinger. The home crowd had another goal to cheer not long afterwards, Pablo Mari rising highest at a corner and glancing a header into the back of the net.
For a team which has struggled creatively in the Premier League, Arsenal were remarkably free flowing.
Reiss Nelson was particularly impressive, wriggling into space and teeing up Lacazette only for his team-mate to smash a shot against the base of the post. The game was over as a contest just before half-time, a pacey, one-touch passing move ending with a goal for Eddie Nketiah.
Rapid pulled one back soon after the restart, Koya Kitagawa lashing home from inside the box. It was a shame for Sead Kolasinac who had made two desperate blocks on the line before Kitagawa finally found a way through.
Lacazette had a chance to re-establish Arsenal’s three-goal lead with 57 minutes on the clock, but was stopped by Strebinger. After more sleek interplay, Nicolas Pépé and Ainsley Maitland-Niles both contrived not to score with the goal gaping.
Brought on for Lacazette, Emile Smith Rowe got his share of the limelight with an instinctive finish to make it 4-1. Rapid only put up token resistance in defence for much of the match and, had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang featured, it could have been an absolute hammering. Dani Ceballos almost scored with a free kick late on, while Rapid’s back line looked more disorganised every time Arsenal marauded forward. Willian and Folarin Balogun, on as second-half substitutes, both came close at the death.
Much as this was a welcome break for Arsenal after their recent struggles domestically, it gives them little breathing space. The north London derby looms ominously on the horizon, with Tottenham currently top of the table and unlikely to be as obliging as Rapid.
For as long as Arsenal are losing in the Premier League, any relief they get from Thursday nights can only be temporary. There is no better time to reverse that trend than this weekend.
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