{"id":8846,"date":"2023-11-30T11:10:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T11:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8846"},"modified":"2023-12-01T20:46:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T20:46:20","slug":"lens-cinq-without-trace-in-first-half-blitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8846","title":{"rendered":"Lens Cinq Without Trace in First Half Blitz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Arsenal moved effortlessly through to the last 16 of the Champions League by thrashing Lens 6-0 and clinching top spot in our Champions League group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In scoring five in the first half we set two records with five separate scorers and by becoming the first English side to score five in the first half of a Champions League game. We also recorded our first CL victory over Lens who looked a shadow of the side who beat us in game 2 in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As, wrapped seasonally in plenty of layers, I departed for the game, a very cosy Mrs TTG, steaming mug of hot chocolate in hand, ginger cat on her lap and tv clicker in hand, gave me the look she so often does at this time of the year as I head off into the cold night air to attend football. It is somewhere between disbelief and pity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a treat she missed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was touched by the club’s decision to wear black armbands to mark the death of that very special lady, Megs Wilson. Bob would have been very moved by this gesture even though I suspect the detail of this match would likely understandably  pass him by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And detail there certainly was, much of it revolving around the involvement of Kai Havertz who for the first time began to resemble a top class attacking midfield player. As confidence flowed back into him we were treated to some exquisite ball skills (one piece of trickery by the left corner flag in the second half was superb). Kai had already missed narrowly with a header that bounced just wide before he latched onto a Jes\u00fas flick after 13 minutes and steered the ball beyond  Bamba in the Lens  goal. Bamba resembles a cut-price Onana which on tonight\u2019s showing by the United man is very cheap indeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 1 Lens 0 – Havertz 13 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dour struggle predicted by our rather pessimistic previewer failed to materialise and the gap in class was very evident. A second goal materialised on 21 minutes when Saka fed Jes\u00fas who dummied one tackle and steered the ball wide of Onana, sorry Bambi!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 2 Lens 0 – Jesus 21 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This continued Jes\u00fas\u2019 excellent scoring  form in the  Champions League. His work rate was prodigious and he continually came deep to receive the ball and to provide space for Saka, Martinelli and Havertz to exploit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you thought my use of the name Bambi was another example of my Spillchucker in full flow our third goal proved the accuracy of his nickname. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martinelli was becoming a continual menace to the Lens right flank but he could scarcely have expected his less than fulminating shot to be palmed onto Saka with a gesture akin to Wayne Sleep hailing a taxi in a snowstorm and the ball rebounded into the net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 3 Lens 0 – Saka 24 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A frozen version of pandemonium enveloped the stadium now and Martinelli increased it three minutes later cutting inside and leaving Bambi in a heap at the edge of the forest with a curling drive which was the best of our goals on the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 4 Lens 0 – Martinelli 27 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or was our fifth goal on the stroke of halftime even better? Tomiyasu, wide on the right, floated an inviting cross to \u00d8degaard who slashed it home on the full volley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 5 Lens 0 – Odegaard 45 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lens\u2019 only response was from a set of idiot supporters who saw fit to light a series of flares some of which found their way into the upper reaches of the East Stand. The reaction of the police and stewards seemed from my vantage point to be pretty passive and would suggest to me that body searches in that part of the ground were perfunctory at best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The half ended with the game won and so euphoric was I that I invested in a pint of Camden Hells costing the GDP of a small Pacific island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halftime – Arsenal 5 Lens 0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inevitably the second half was an anti-climax but given the recent and upcoming demands of our programme Arteta (who never stopped cajoling the team on for ninety minutes) did exactly the right thing in bringing off Tomayisu, Zinchenko, Saka, Rice and Jes\u00fas and replacing them with White, Kiwior, Nelson, Jorginho and Nketiah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazingly, the ultimate possession stats showed us as having only 48% of the ball but we retained easy control in the second half and Raya had little to do of any consequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The referee  briefly  assumed centre stage having in my view been way too lenient on the Lens  defenders in their early treatment of Saka. Some time after a high ball appeared to possibly be handled (as Martinelli simultaneously received a forearm smash to the face), play was stopped at a throw in and a bilingual VAR warning appeared on the screen. The referee was sent to the screen and as always the case decided to award a penalty which Jorginho despatched to become our sixth individual scorer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 6 Lens 0 – Jorginho pen 86 mins <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further joy ensued when it was announced that the Lens supporters would be kept behind. They still danced like dervishes lit flares and had the opportunity to reflect on how comprehensively Arsenal had beaten them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full time – Arsenal 6 Lens 0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our home form has been sensational in the group with a collective aggregate of 12-0 in our three games in which the opposition scarcely ever looked like scoring. I can\u2019t remember an easier set of home qualifying games in many years of watching the Champions League but this may be a disservice to a side who played perfectly judged European football, although I suspect that we did have a relatively weak group. We now have the luxury of playing a heavily rotated team in Eindhoven next week. I suspect that team may contain the rehabilitated Havertz so that he can further  develop a hot streak after finally looking at home for the first time in an Arsenal shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A job well done even if the only French flare was of the explosive  type. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arsenal moved effortlessly through to the last 16 of the Champions League by thrashing Lens 6-0 and clinching top spot in our Champions League group.  In scoring five in the first half we set two records with five separate scorers and by becoming the first English side to score five in the first half of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8846"}],"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=8846"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8861,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8846\/revisions\/8861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}