With two minutes to go Arsenal looked completely down and out. After a woeful and completely abject performance for 90 minutes, the Gunners managed to somehow find two goals in the final moments to snatch an unlikely 2-1 victory.
Arsenal started in a 4-1-4-1 formation and maintained control throughout the early stages. Less than 3 minutes were on the clock when the Gunners had their first and best chance of the half, Santi Cazorla skewing over after wonderful trickery from Alexis. Arsenal continued to probe after this, without doing too much with it. As the half wore on, Anderlecht’s youthful and exuberant side started to come into the game more, and problems were being caused on the Arsenal right, with Chambers struggling to deal with the pace of the left midfielder and left-back. However, the Gunners went in at half-time in relative control. The occasional lapse of concentration and Acheampong’s speed had caused some problems for the North Londoner’s, but on the whole Arsenal would’ve been content with their showing.
The second half provided far more entertainment than the first, and almost instantaneously the Gunners should’ve scored. Alexis had a great chance inside the Anderlecht box after Cazorla had found him, but his header was directed straight at the keeper. This looked like the start of a far better showing in the second half for Arsenal, but gradually their play became more and more sluggish. The ball was continually given away and Anderlecht were causing many problems on the break, benefiting from a rather open Arsenal defence.
On 71 minutes Arsenal were made to pay for their dismal display, as Andy Najar found himself in acres of space to nod home a lovely header. This should have woken the Gunners up, but they continued to play poorly and Vanden Borre somehow didn’t score moments later, as his comical finish hit the bar.
At 90 minutes, with all three substitutions made, it looked as though Anderlecht were going to record only their second win in 33 Champions League fixtures. What happened next though was truly stunning. Out of nothing, Chambers whipped in a delicious cross which allowed Gibbs to level at the back post. Then, from nowhere Podolski found himself alone in the box and slotted high into the roof of the net, sending the 1000 or so Arsenal faithful into delirium.
Overall, Arsenal’s display was rather disappointing. The importance of the result cannot be underestimated, but you can’t help feel that it papers over the cracks slightly. A tactical rethink is needed, as currently the team aren’t fulfilling their potential. Despite this though, the win could prove to be crucial in the long run.