Arsenal must banish European final demons to make Champions League history

LONDON: From Jens Lehmann’s rush of blood to ‘Nayim from the halfway line’, Arsenal will have to banish three decades of European final misery if they are to win the Champions League for the first time.

Fresh from clinching their first English title since 2004, Mikel Arteta’s side are preparing to face Paris St-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on Saturday.

Bringing home the club’s first Champions League crown just 12 days after their long-awaited Premier League triumph would make it the greatest season in Arsenal’s illustrious history.

But the Gunners head to the Puskas Arena haunted by the ghosts of past European failures.

Since Tony Adams lifted the Cup Winners Cup after Alan Smith sealed a 1-0 win over Parma in 1994, the north Londoners have endured four painful defeats in continental finals.

In 1995, they returned to the Cup Winners Cup final, losing 2-1 to Real Zaragoza in agonising fashion when Nayim caught out Arsenal keeper David Seaman with an astonishing lob from 40 yards in the last minute of extra-time.

Rubbing salt into Arsenal wounds, Nayim previously played for their arch rivals Tottenham, whose fans have celebrated the moment by chanting ‘Nayim from the halfway line’ ever since.

Five years later, Arsene Wenger took Arsenal to the Uefa Cup final, with victory expected against Galatasaray in Copenhagen.

But the Turkish underdogs frustrated Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and company in a 0-0 draw before winning 4-1 on penalties.

In 2006, Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first time.

However, Wenger’s men left Paris in despair after their keeper Lehmann was sent off for racing out of his penalty area to foul Samuel Eto’o early in the first half.

Despite playing with 10 men, Arsenal took the lead through Sol Campbell, but late goals from Eto’o and Juliano Belletti broke their hearts.

Unai Emery has won the Europa League five times as manager of Aston Villa, Villarreal and Sevilla, but his lone defeat in the final of that tournament came with Arsenal, who were thrashed 4-1 by Chelsea in Baku in 2019.

Arsenal also lost the 1980 Cup Winners Cup final against Valencia, with their only other European silverware coming in the long-forgotten Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970.

‘It would be unreal’

Exorcising those demons would be the crowning glory for Arteta, who has ended Arsenal’s six-year trophy drought by leading them to the club’s 14th Premier League title.

Following Sunday’s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace in their last game of the domestic season, Arteta joined Arsenal’s players and backroom staff to celebrate at a Mediterranean restaurant in London’s Mayfair on Sunday night.

The party lasted long into the night at several other celebrity hot spots, with Declan Rice seen singing the ‘Ice Ice baby’ tune that has become Arsenal fans’ anthem for their influential midfielder.

Just hours after lifting the trophy at sun-drenched Selhurst Park, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard summed up the ecstatic mood ahead of the trip to Budapest.

“Everyone is so happy. We’re living a dream, winning the Premier League and being in a Champions League final,” he said.

“Now we have a big final. If we could do it, it would be unreal.”

Arteta interrupted the revelry to keep his players focused, praising the unity in the squad and urging them to follow their title triumph by conquering Europe.

“We need that energy to flow. Going against that will be a big mistake,” the Spaniard said.

“We’ve already talked about what we have to do in Budapest, how we’re going to use all the incredible energy that we’re all carrying towards that final.

“We can’t wait to write the new chapter in the history of our club and win the Champions League.”

Holders PSG present a formidable challenge after beating Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals last season.

But, after more than 30 years of European angst, Arteta knows immortality is within their grasp.

“If we win one more, we are the champions of Europe – as simple as that,” he said.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today