Sanogo cheers Arsenal but injuries take the sheen off win
Striker finally nets for the Gunners after 18 months, but every silver lining has a cloud
Arsenal 2 Borussia Dortmund 0: The gloom that has settled over the Emirates recently was lifted just a touch on Wednesday night as Arsenal booked a place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the 15th year running.
A first senior goal for striker Yaya Sanogo, 18 months after he joined the club, and the 13th of the season for Alexis Sanchez, who has been at the Emirates for four months, were enough to sink Borussia Dortmund and provide the Gunners with a morale-boosting win. A clean sheet, Arsenal's seventh in 21 games this term, would also have been welcome given recent criticism of the side's "kamikaze" tactics.
"As infuriating as their supporters find it at times, Arsene Wenger found himself marvelling last night at Arsenal’s consistency," says Oliver Kay of The Times. "And now thoughts turn to whether they can do more than make up the numbers in the knockout stage."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The significance of the win "depends whether you are inclined to judge this Borussia Dortmund team on their standards over the past few seasons or on their alarming drop in form over recent weeks", writes Kay, who says the German team looked a "pale imitation" of the team that beat Arsenal earlier in the season.
The game may chiefly be remembered for Sanogo's first Gunners goal. The young French striker has become a "one-man emblem of congealment and capped ambition" for Arsenal fans, notes Barney Ronay in The Guardian. He was bought on a hunch in the summer of 2013 and over an injury plagued and goal-free 18 months has developed into a symbol of "the goatishness and eccentricity of late-Wengerism".
"His goal not a vindication of his manager's transfer policy or an enduringly lopsided squad, but of his own determination and courage on a huge occasion for him personally," says Ronay. And others are quick to point out that Arsenal still have plenty of problems, chief among them a dire injury record.
"Many problems remain at the club, and with elements of Wenger’s purist philosophy," says Henry Winter in the Daily Telegraph. "The main negative was the return of the injury curse, claiming Sanogo, who departed rubbing his left hamstring, and Mikel Arteta, who hobbled off with a calf problem."
So, as is often the case for Arsenal these days, every silver lining has a cloud. With Arteta likely to be "out for a while", Jack Wilshere sidelined with an ankle injury and Abou Diaby still hanging around the Emirates treatment room, much will depend on the fitness of Mathieu Flamini in the coming weeks, with the Gunners now threadbare in all defensive departments.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 3, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - presidential pitching, wavering convictions, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
English football and the etiquette of leaving the stadium early
Talking Point The belief that 'true fans stay to the end' does not always apply
By The Week UK Published
-
Premier League: Man City vs. Arsenal predictions
feature What the pundits say about tonight’s title race showdown at the Etihad
By Mike Starling Last updated
-
Pros and cons of VAR in football
Pros and Cons String of mistakes has put new technology under the microscope
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Can Arsenal really win the Premier League title?
feature How the pundits reacted after the Gunners’ late 3-2 victory over Man Utd
By Mike Starling Published
-
Tottenham vs. Arsenal predictions: race for the Premier League top four
feature Expect a ‘seismic’ north London derby with Champions League qualification on the line
By Mike Starling Published
-
Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal exile: footballing reasons or political?
In Depth German playmaker questions the club’s loyalty after omission from the Premier League squad
By Mike Starling Published
-
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Arsenal seal their biggest signing in years
In Depth Gunners fans and club legends celebrate the skipper’s new three-year deal
By Mike Starling Published
-
Why everyone’s talking about the Arsenal redundancies
In Depth FA Cup winners’s plan to axe 55 jobs angers players, fans and former stars
By Mike Starling Published