Arsenal have returned to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 7 years. Their return fixture sees them head to the Estádio de Dragão to face Porto in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.
This return to the elite of European club football for Arsenal comes with an exhilarating sense of opportunity. The Gunners are certainly in the mix to be lifting that famous trophy on home soil at Wembley Stadium this June. They currently sit at the third favourite to win the Champions League. The teams ahead of them are reigning champions Manchester City and the most successful club in Champions League history, Real Madrid.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere is good reason for the Gunners to be held in such regard. They topped Group B by 4 points with relative ease. They conceded only 3 goals in the Group Stage, a number only topped by Real Sociedad’s 2 goals conceded. Granted they did suffer defeat against RC Lens at the cauldron that was the Estadio Bollaert-Delelis. However, they would emphatically avenge that loss with a 6-0 drubbing of Les Sang et Or at the Emirates Stadium in the return fixture.
So far, Arsenal’s return to the Champions League this season has been a success. Historically however, the Gunners’ European ventures have routinely been marred by disappointment and heartbreak. Let us open the history books and go back in time to journey through the history of Arsenal in the Champions League, starting all the way back in the early 1970s.
A Promising Debut
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal’s first voyage into the premier European club competition was back in the 1971-72 European Cup. The season prior, the Gunners became just the fourth side in history to win the League and FA Cup double. As the reigning champions of England, Arsenal were placed into the hat for the 1971-72 European Cup. At the time, only league winners would qualify for the competition.
Their first-round opponents were the Norwegian champions, Strømsgodset. Godset were during their most successful period in club history, led by striker Steinar Pettersen and the ‘Rødgata Boys’. Just like the Gunners, Godset were coming off the back of a Norwegian league and cup double. Despite this, they were no match for Arsenal. The Gunners blasted the Norwegian outfit at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo 3-1 in the first leg. The second leg was a similar story, with the previous seasons’ top scorer Ray Kennedy, John Radford and future Arsenal appearance record holder, George Armstrong pouring in the goals in a 4-0 victory. Arsenal advanced 7-1 on aggregate.
Embed from Getty ImagesAwaiting Arsenal in the second round were the Swiss champions, Grasshopper Zurich. They had thrashed their Finnish opponents, Reipas Lahti, 9-1 on aggregate in the first round. Therefore, a tougher test faced the Gunners. Arsenal, however, went full speed ahead in the first leg in Switzerland. Ray Kennedy opened the scoring within 2 minutes. George Graham doubled Arsenal’s advantage in the 88th minute, giving the Gunners a strong position heading back to Highbury.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe second leg was the same story for Arsenal. Ray Kennedy punished Zurich again after 40 minutes to give Arsenal the lead. Second half goals from Charlie George and John Radford sealed a 3-0 second leg victory. Arsenal cruised through to the quarter finals 5-0 on aggregate. While they had not yet faced a true test in the European Cup, their debut campaign was going perfectly. They had scored 12 goals and had only conceded once in 4 games. That test however would certainly come in the following round.
A Doomed Draw
Embed from Getty ImagesThe luck of the draw for Arsenal would change drastically as they reached the quarter finals. The Gunners drew the reigning European Cup Champions, Ajax, led by the current Ballon D’Or winner and football revolutionary, Johan Cruyff. Arsenal had played Ajax in the 1970 Fairs Cup semifinal, besting the Dutch outfit 3-1 on aggregate on their way to winning the cup. But this Ajax group was a different beast in 1972.
The First Leg
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Gunners travelled to the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam for the first leg. As soon as the whistle blew on that Wednesday night, Arsenal were under the cosh. Ajax were immediately dominant and ramping through the gears within the first quarter of an hour. Their best chance in this period of play stems from a moment of brilliance from Cruyff. Jopie flicks the ball up on the right wing and hoofs it over his head, causing a panic in the Arsenal box, which is eventually remedied by Arsenal goalie, Bob Wilson. A clear signal of the mercurial display the Gunners were facing in Cruyff.
Arsenal could barely keep the ball for longer than a few passes.
At the 15th minute mark though, the Gunners earnt a free kick just over the halfway line. Arsenal’s skipper, Frank McLintock, inconspicuously takes the free kick. The ball is met by Ajax’s Ruud Krol who fails to fully clear it. Their captain, Piet Keizer heads it back towards his goalkeeper.
But his header is short.
The talismanic Ray Kennedy senses the impending chance, one he knows his side would find incredibly hard to get again. He stretches his left leg just enough to latch onto the wayward ball. The ball bounces past the onrushing Heinz Stuy and slowly rolls into the open goal. Arsenal led against the European champions in their own backyard, completely against the run of play. They had scored a crucial away goal which could decide the tie.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal would then face insurmountable pressure from the Dutch giants. Pressure they would inevitably give in to. Gerrie Mühren’s deflected strike found the back of the Gunners net on 27 minutes, squaring the game.
The Ajax onslaught continued for the rest of the first half, with Arsenal doing just enough to prevent a quick comeback from their Dutch adversaries. However, there was once again an air of inevitability in Amsterdam that night, with Ajax increasingly edging closer to taking the lead. Arsenal was absolutely saved by the half time whistle. If you had told legendary Arsenal manager, Bertie Mee, that his side would be level with Ajax with a goal each at half-time, he would have been ecstatic.
The second half began positively for Arsenal. They aimed to impose themselves more going forward. Although, at around the hour mark, Arsenal’s control waned, and Ajax began to emerge. An early warning sign came as Bob Wilson needed to turn away a low and hard first-time effort that was fizzed from the feet of captain Keizer at his near post. Despite their renewed control, Ajax could not apply the final changes to their incisive attacks.
Arsenal were holding on.
Embed from Getty ImagesIf the Gunners could survive, a draw away to the reigning champions of Europe with an away goal too would give them a precious advantage heading back to Highbury. This was until the 72nd minute.
After an optimistic header into Arsenal’s box, the Gunners failed to clear their lines as the ball bounced goalwards. Ajax forward, Dick Van Dijk, charges toward the ball with 3 defenders draped either side of him. He is then bundled down. A penalty is given to Ajax.
The man who scored the equaliser earlier, Muhren, steps up and cooly converts the penalty low into the bottom right corner.
Ajax led 2-1.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs the final whistle approached, Ajax’s dominance continued, and the game ended 2-1.
The Second Leg
So, Arsenal had it all to do at home. However, they knew a 1-0 victory would be enough to see them through on away goals. Their opportunity to do just that came almost immediately at Highbury.
Within three minutes of the second leg, striker Peter Marinello, who did not feature in the first leg, pounces on a horrid touch from Ajax’s Horst Blankenburg just outside his own area.
Embed from Getty ImagesMarinello charged through one on one against Stuy. The closest Ajax defender, Ruud Krol, is unable to recover the ground behind him. Marinello looks to slot it into the far-left corner, but Stuy exceptionally manages to stick his right leg out to save it. The follow up from Ray Kennedy went array, flying high and wide. An excellent opportunity squandered by the Gunners and their once record signing. Marinello was a stand in in this game for usual forward, John Radford, who was suspended. Arsenal continued to press on, until the 14th minute when their hopes were dashed.
Ruud Krol chips a speculative through ball towards the Gunners box and the onrushing Arie Haan. George Graham looks to neuter the threat and head back towards his keeper, Bob Wilson. The header sails right past Wilson and into Arsenal’s goal. 1-0. Ajax’s position is now hugely strengthened with an all-important away goal to effectively kill the tie. A stark contrast to the opening 15 minutes in Amsterdam.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal now needed two goals just to get the game to extra time. They battled on but failed to score. It just was not meant to be. Ajax, led by their magician Johan Cruyff, advanced 3-1 on aggregate. Arsenal’s debut campaign in the European Cup ended in heartbreak, but the promise of the club’s future European endeavours was clear. Despite this, Arsenal’s next voyage into Europe’s elite club competition would not be for another 20 years. Funnily enough, the Gunners would be led by the man who unfortunately cost them in their debut campaign: George Graham.
Ajax would go on to retain the European Cup, besting Inter Milan 2-0 in the final thanks to a dazzling double form Cruyff. They would three-peat in 1973.
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