Arsenal 4-1 Rapid Vienna: 4 Things We Learned From Fun Night

Arsenal secured top spot in Group B with a 4-1 Europa League win over Rapid Vienna on Thursday.

A victory that was both enjoyable and memorable for all the right reasons was befitting of the return of 2,000 supporters in the Emirates Stadium, who were treated to the most enjoyable Arsenal performance of the season.

From the off there was intensity and aggression, with the width of Nicolas Pepe and Reiss Nelson disrupting Rapid Vienna’s organisation and allowing Alexandre Lacazatte to drop as deep as he wanted to.

It was the captain on the night who got the ball rolling with a wonderful swerving drive that bamboozled Richard Strebinger ten minutes in. Pablo Mari then glanced a neat header into the far corner for his debut Arsenal goal on his first senior start in six month, before Eddie Nketiah nodded home after reacting quickest to his own rebound a minute ahead of half-time.

A quick start from the visitors saw Koya Kitagawa handed Die Grün-Weißen a route back in soon after the restart, aided by some poor goalkeeping from Alex Runarsson, but normality resumed with Arsenal dominating the match and grabbing a fourth through substitute Emile Smith Rowe.

Ahead of a frightening North London Derby in the context of both sides’ form, the result and performance were most welcome.

Here is what we learned from Thursday night.

The Fans Made a Difference

Despite 2,00 being a tiny percentage of what the Emirates can hold, the lift the players had from the supporters being the ground was evident from the start.

Singing, chanting, applauding, laughing and joking, there was a mutual love between fan and player that regardless of the current predicament the club are in, was plain to see.

Lacazette would have surely celebrated his screamer even without fans, but the joy on his face and being able to knee slide in front of the Arsenal faithful was a moment he and all in the stadium had sorely missed for 241 days.

When Willian(!) warmed up he was greeted to a standing crowd who applauded him on the touchline. As fans, we know how important that side of the game is, yet you could see how much it means to the players too. The performance was the most energetic we’ve seen this season, even in the Europa League, and it’s little wonder why.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles Still Remembers

Ever since he started filling in at right-back when Hector Bellerin got injured what feels like an eternity ago, the idea of Ainsley Maitland-Niles returning to his preferred midfield slot became a increasingly distant one. Seeing him in that role during on Thursday was a bit of a surprise, and you’d have been forgiven for wondering if he remembered how to play there.

He still remembers.

Again, everything comes with the caveat of Rapid Vienna being really, really bad. Let’s not forget. However, Maitland-Niles in that role was able to use the athleticism he has down the flanks in a constantly maneuvering display.

Like a refined roomba, he never stopped moving, dropping into pockets of space and charging down the inside right channels, playing neat one touch passes and, above all, clearly enjoying himself. He was having fun out there. It showed.

Nicolas Pepe Finding His Consistency

It’s what we’ve wanted from him and, again, the opposition were rubbish, I know.

Casting our minds back it’s hard to remember the Ivorian playing two consecutive matches at such a level

. His intelligence on and off the ball shone through, picking his moments well to attack the spaces left, right or centre.

He was tracking back to cover his markers as well, an element of his game that we haven’t seen much of. As evidenced by the bench’s reaction, the chances he spurned were opportunities he needs to be tucking away as opposed to over-playing. He’s the kind of guy who’d cut in line for a meet and greet with Santa Claus.

Which brings us back to the frustrations. Here we have our record signing, playing some of his best football at the club and missing from Sunday’s monstrous league clash because he headbutted someone. All he can do at this point is perform in this competition, a task he’s rising to.

Another 90-minute run-out against Dundalk is set to follow before he can return to Premier League action at home to Southampton on Wednesday the 16th.

Mikel Arteta’s Selections Offer Tottenham Hints

Interestingly, the competition where Joe Willock has flourished this season saw him not play a single minute. His showing against Wolves was not great – although much improved in the second half – and Arteta has clearly seen something indicating to him that Willock is deserving of a place in the Premier League side.

Given his skill set differs greatly from the rest of the options in that position and the positive displays produced in this competition, you see Arteta’s thinking.

On top of that, Granit Xhaka wasn’t even in the squad. Especially awful against Wolves through his general play and negativity, his exclusion strongly hints towards a starting berth on Sunday.

The Willian/Nelson debate is an interesting one. Willian got half an hour at the end in place of Nelson, so who gets the nod against Sp*rs is tough to call. One the one hand, Nelson is being saved for the weekend, while on the other, Willian needed minutes ahead of the fixture with Nelson the obvious option to be withdrawn as Pepe isn’t eligible anyway.

What about Lacazette? Was the best player on the pitch alongside Maitland-Niles and thrived in that deeper role, although suggesting he’ll be as effective against a distinctly superior outfit on Sunday is a call to be made at one’s own peril.

In the end, we still don’t know, but we’ve been teased one way or the other.