So this is Arsenal.
A team that is supposed to be on the verge of crisis.
A club whose fans are losing patience with their grand old manager.
A team that coasted to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund last night.
A team that just qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 15th year in succession.
A club that cannot quite decide whether it wants change or not.
After they lost to Manchester United on Saturday, Arsenal were supposed to be on the edge of meltdown again.
Crisis often draws near to the Emirates but it never actually arrives.
There was concern, for instance, that Arsene Wenger would come under renewed pressure if he lost to a Dortmund team managed by Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp is favoured by many as the man to replace Wenger and oversee a new era at the Emirates.
Campaigns like that are never given a huge boost when the pretender to the throne gets soundly beaten.
After last night’s result, it is still possible that Arsenal will finish top of Group D ahead of Dortmund, who are also struggling in the Bundesliga.
Wenger and Arsenal have become masters at staying one step ahead of those who seek to damn them.
Not far enough ahead to challenge the recent dominance of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.
But enough to weaken the threat to the status quo.
“I don’t try any more to think what people think,” Wenger said last night. “What is important is that we are united. What is important is what we do inside the club.”
On Saturday, it felt as if Arsenal had blown a golden chance to get one over on Manchester United.
United were vulnerable and Arsenal still couldn’t exploit their weaknesses as they slid to defeat.
On occasions like that, it feels as though Wenger’s side is operating at a psychological disadvantage against the other big sides.
Beating them with anything like regularity seems to be a hump they just can’t get over.
And yet it is impossible to dismiss Wenger’s recent Arsenal sides as mentally flawed because they are also capable of great resilience.
Yaya Sanogo, the French forward whose signing is often used as a reason to berate Wenger, scored the opener in the second minute.
And early in the second half, Alexis Sanchez, the transfer coup of Wenger’s summer, put the game out of reach with a beautiful finish.
Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal form
22
14
3
Klopp fretted and shouted, Wenger was serene.
A few ‘Wenger Out’ posters made an appearance at The Emirates on Saturday. They stayed in pockets last night.
Best pictures
Teams
Arsenal: Martinez, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Sanchez, Sanogo
Dortmund: Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotic, Ginter, Schmelzer, Gundogan, Bender, Grosskreutz, Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Immobile
Read John Cross' ratings here.
Group D as it stands
P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 12 |
Arsenal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
Anderlecht | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 5 |
Galatasaray | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -12 | 1 |