Arsenal Vs CSKA Moscow: Stupidity all that separates semi-finals

Arsenal travel to CSKA Moscow with a 4-1 advantage from the first leg. Stupidity is the only thing that separates them from the semi-finals. Unfortunately, that is something that this team excels at.

The second leg of the Europa League quarter-final against CSKA Moscow is upon us. Arsenal travel to Russia with a three-goal, 4-1 advantage. It was a game that they dominated, only letting things slip here and there with some sketchy defending in places. This should be all under control, right?

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Well, yes. Although CSKA did score at the Emirates with a lovely measured free-kick after both Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka failed to clear effectively before Laurent Koscielny careered into a header he was never going to win to concede the foul, they proved themselves to be way out of their depth.

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It was the home side that controlled the game for large periods, especially in the second half, had scored four goals by just half-time, and could, if not for some better final-third play and penalty-box decision-making and finishing, been five or six to the good once the 90 minutes were through. If both teams were to play a similar level that they did in the first leg, this would be a cricket score after the second.

And yet, this is Arsenal we are talking about. This is a team almost unrivalled in their ability to offer hope to their fans, only to snatch it away at the last moment. This is a club that many have likened to a tortuous, comedy sketch in which the fans are run through the ringer purely for the sadistic enjoyment of the baying viewers. This is a collection of players under a manager that lack conviction and confidence, succumbing to the pressures and the challenges that away trips can offer.

You see, this is not the machinal Chelsea. This is not the superlative Manchester City. This is Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, and in their stupidity, they could still yet lose this game.

But that is their only hurdle. Stupidity. Their style is suited to a counter-attacking approach. Their players are experienced, aware, and intelligent. They can kill games with extended periods of possession, diminishing the atmosphere, quietening the crowd. They can score that crucial away goal that means CSKA have to score four.

The Gunners are perfectly capable of all of these things and more. They are by far the better team of the two. But they also have this mental switch that often flicks before these games, sending them into a state of confusion and crisis.

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It would be utterly silly. It would be completely stupid and foolish and naive and infuriating. It would be oh so Arsenal.