{"id":13610,"date":"2026-06-11T10:20:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=13610"},"modified":"2026-06-17T04:49:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:49:31","slug":"the-european-odyssey-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=13610","title":{"rendered":"The European Odyssey 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season there were high hopes, indeed expectations, that Arsenal could  mount a serious challenge for the trophy this year. Arsenal had adjusted to the new league system very effectively last season and comfortably qualified in the top eight places in third place. In theory, the higher a team finished, future progress would be more facilitated in the draw but, last season, Liverpool were drawn against PSG in the last 16 after finishing first in the expanded league group so there was still a random element to the system!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal set out on their 2025-6 European journey with a visit to Athletic Bilbao, a testing start but one that we coped with comfortably. It took until the 72nd minute for Arsenal to break through. Gabriel Martinelli scored then Trossard secured victory with a few minutes to go. A shut-out with an excellent defensive performance illustrated how well-placed Arsenal were to go deep into the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first home game was against Olympiacos and although an early Martinelli goal set Arsenal on their way a quite remarkable save by Raya from Podence was necessary to preserve the lead and the game was not wrapped up until Saka scored in injury time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the glamour games in the first eight matches in the expanded league was a home match against Atletico Madrid, a seasoned European campaigner, managed by the notorious Simeone and a side expected to pose significant problems for Arsenal. Apart from a spectacular effort by Alvarez early in the second half which rebounded off the woodwork, Arsenal picked off Atletico with ease after the interval. Gabriel headed in an excellent Rice free kick, a superb Lewis- Skelly run set up Martinelli for a second and Gy\u00f6keres then poached two close-range goals to complete an impressive victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal then travelled to Prague to take on Slavia and benefited from a VAR intervention to give them a penalty which Saka converted. Merino carried on a very helpful club habit of scoring immediately after the interval with a slick finish and added a third goal, with a header, twenty minutes from time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal had a 100% record but faced their most significant challenge in the next game against Bayern Munich at home. Harry Kane returned to his usual warm welcome at the Emirates but this time was not awarded a penalty as he usually is when he visits. Hincapi\u00e9 was deputising for Gabriel at centre back, and he did so very capably, while the team carried enormous momentum into the game, having thrashed Tottenham a few days before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timber gave Arsenal the lead from a corner but a superb and very direct counter from Bayern saw the young prodigy Karl equalise. Arsenal\u2019s second half performance was even more impressive than we had seen against Tottenham. Calafiori produced a superb overlap and cross which substitute Madueke turned in for his first Arsenal goal and a great long pass from Eze drew Neuer from his goal only for Martinelli to race around him and turn the ball home. This was a real statement victory. On my way back to my hotel in Marylebone after the match, I hopped into a taxi. The driver noted my scarf and had also been at the game. \u201cF***ing hell mate, I\u2019m just starting to realise how good we are!\u201d was his prescient comment. Ahead of the game, Bayern were reckoned to be the big threat to PSG but they were put firmly in their place by Arsenal that evening, and Kane spent the match firmly confined within Saliba\u2019s pocket . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal had soared into the  upper reaches of the Champions League table and were close to qualification for the last sixteen before they played FC Brugge in mid- December. Arteta rotated the team significantly but Arsenal still comfortably took care of the Belgians. The Gunners were set on their way by a spectacular effort from Madueke who then added a second just after the interval with a header. Martinelli, who was having a barren time in domestic football, continued his European scoring streak with a goal in the 56th minute for another solid 3-0 victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Inter Milan away game loomed as a serious challenge, especially as Arsenal had suffered their first defeat in the previous campaign in very unfortunate circumstances at the San Siro. Arsenal were able to rotate the side significantly but still won with a very professional performance. Jes\u00f9s opened the scoring but Sucic hit a spectacular equaliser only for those physical monsters Trossard and Jes\u00f9s to combine to give Arsenal the lead from a corner. Arsenal then coped comfortably with the Inter attack and substitute Gy\u00f6keres banged in a long distance effort to clinch a 3-1 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal\u2019s final game in the league phase was a home fixture against Kazakhstan\u2019s finest, Kairat Almaty, who were lying at the bottom of the 32 team league. When Gy\u00f6keres scored early on, Arsenal fans expected a rout but we then conceded a penalty which Jorginho (no, not that one) converted. Havertz and Martinelli put us into a 3-1 lead but to their credit Kairat kept going to the end, and Ricardinho scored a goal in the last minute to suggest a game that was much closer than had actually been the case! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had qualified top in the league with a 100% record, had conceded only two goals and this proved very significant in helping us to navigate through the knockout stages. We entered the competition again at the last 16 stage and were able to play our home legs as the second match for the rest of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first opponents in the knockout phase were Bayer Leverkusen. There was no repeat of the 7-1 away victory we had achieved against PSV last season and we struggled in Germany lacking our normal control and fluency and conceding from a corner which Andrich headed in just after half-time. It was a goal from the Arsenal playbook and our response was a long time coming. Eventually an enterprising run from Madueke was met with a heavy challenge and the referee adjudged that it was a penalty. Later in the competition, a very similar situation did not have such a happy outcome. Havertz coolly slotted home the  penalty and we gained a rather fortuitous draw. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the home leg, we gave a controlled performance sparked by a quite superb strike by Eze midway through the first half. Rice clinched victory in the second half, with another fine finish following a corner. We then shut Leverkusen down very effectively and were able to move smoothly into the quarter finals . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We met Sporting Lisbon whom we had thrashed last season when Viktor Gy\u00f6keres was their main striker. The away leg in Lisbon was cagey but a beautiful combination between Martinelli and Havertz enabled the German to finish elegantly to give us a priceless 1-0 lead. The second leg was closer than most Arsenal fans had anticipated. Sporting rarely threatened but neither did we and a fairly sterile game ended 0-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our semi-final opponents were expected to be Barcelona, but they had been upset at home by Atletico Madrid, and Atletico prevailed after a tense second leg. Arsenal played a textbook European away leg in the first half in Madrid and were awarded a penalty which Gy\u00f6keres blasted home. In the second half, Atletico improved and White was penalised for the sort of handball that is punished in European games. Alvarez equalised but Arsenal\u2019s defence held firm thereafter and it finished 1-1 .The second leg was tense and the highly charged atmosphere seemed to lift Arsenal who scored a precious goal just before the interval when Saka turned the ball home after Oblak had parried a Trossard effort. Arsenal showed all their European knowhow  to preserve their lead in a tense second half, Simeone came to blows on the touchline but what\u2019s new?! When the final whistle blew we saw huge rejoicing around the Emirates. We were off to Budapest! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bayern and PSG had played a remarkable, high scoring semi-final first leg but PSG were  much more pragmatic in the second leg and advanced after a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our final with PSG was played in Budapest and despite a huge exodus of Arsenal fans only 16,000 tickets were available through the club although it was estimated that we occupied three quarters of the stadium. Havertz gave Arsenal a dream start with a fine breakaway goal, after only six minutes with a shot that he rifled into the roof of the net at the keeper\u2019s near post. Despite overwhelming PSG possession the French side made very few chances in the first half. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kvaratskelia had been the player we most feared but he was generally beautifully played by Mosquera, starting in place of Timber \u2026.. until the 63rd minute, when he mistimed a tackle in the box and Dembele despatched the penalty. An attritional  game moved into extra-time and Madueke was clumsily challenged by Mendes but the referee who had made few friends in North London, waved away Arsenal\u2019s claims.  It looked every bit as much a penalty as the one we gained in Leverkusen. Barcola hit the post with virtually the last kick of the match but we moved on to penalties. Eze missed Arsenal\u2019s second after Gy\u00f6keres had scored. Raya then saved from Mendes and Rice and Martinelli scored. However, Gabriel blazed Arsenal\u2019s fifth penalty over and the Champions League  belonged to PSG for a second consecutive year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Football judgments are very binary and Arsenal have alarmed a lot of rival clubs and their fans this year. A lot of the negativity towards us  is borne of fear.  Arteta has turned them from a club with no worthwhile recent European pedigree to a serious challenger for the Champions League in three years. In those three years, Arsenal have narrowly lost to Bayern in the quarter final in 2024, made the semi finals against PSG in 2025 (having already beaten them in the league stage) and lost two tight games whilst recording a significantly higher xG than PSG. This year\u2019s  version of Arsenal is a much more streetwise and resilient outfit. Ironically having not conceded a single penalty in 38 league matches, Arsenal gave away three (all scored) in the Champions League  in 15 matches \u2026.. and their ultimate fate was decided by penalties in that fateful shootout . Two of those conceded would have been unlikely to have been given in the Premier League but the penalty at Leverkusen was debatable (I thought it was a penalty) and I believe Madueke was fouled in the box during extra time in the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To come so close to such a big prize and to see it slip away is very hard to take but this Arsenal side is made of very stern stuff and this type of experience may harden their resolve even more . We have come very close to the League title three times and eventually clinched that prize. Let that be the case with the Cup with Big Ears. As a very determined young man once said, \u201cThis is not done!\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season there were high hopes, indeed expectations, that Arsenal could  mount a serious challenge for the trophy this year. Arsenal had adjusted to the new league system very effectively last season and comfortably qualified in the top eight places in third place. In theory, the higher […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24,20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13610"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13615,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610\/revisions\/13615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}