Arsenal give Arsene Wenger a treat as they mark his return to Emirates

Halfway through his grand return to the Emirates Stadium, Arsene Wenger must have feared he had been thrust back into his nightmares. Arsenal, his team, in the stadium that had been built for his grand vision, were dominating possession and territory, elegance personified in a youthful cocktail of international and local talent. And they were losing.

These games are the foundational myth of the ground that Arsene built. In the bleak midwinter, Arsenal come undone. So it seemed they would when the errors of Gabriel and William Saliba were punished in ruthless fashion, Jarrod Bowen winning a penalty that Said Benrahma would go on to convert. All of their flaws were punished in ruthless fashion, all the creativity of Martin Odegaard adding up to naught.

It looked like a fitting tribute to late day Wenger, attending his first Arsenal match since leaving the club in May 2018. Instead, this was a performance you would associate with the best times in the 22 year association between manager and club. Mikel Arteta’s side are not yet ready to lace the boots of the teams of 1998, 2002 and 2004, but they lack the brittleness, the hang-ups of those that followed the Invincibles. They do not wait for the…