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Arsenal’s greatest Emirates victories

By on April 14, 2016

By Dustin Emslie,

Arsenal fans have seen a number of exhilarating games since the club made the move to the Emirates Stadium in July of 2006. There has been some astonishing football played by the Gunners over recent years and three matches in particular will forever hold strong in our memories.

Arsenal 3-0 Manchester United (2015)

This game makes the list largely due to a first half massacre of the Red Devils. This was a vintage display from the Gunners that brought back memories from the Invincibles era when they used to bury their opponents before they even knew they were in a game.

Arsenal started this game with electric pace, magnificent movement and a cutting edge not seen at the club for ages. It took just over five minutes for Arsenal to open the scoring through a brilliant back heel flick from Alexis Sanchez. Moments later Mesut Ozil couldn’t believe his luck when he glided into space and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to send the players and fans into raptures.

Arsenal were relentless and kept hammering at the United goal. There were still less than 20 minutes played when Sanchez curled a brilliant shot into the top corner to destroy any lingering Manchester hopes. There were no more goals as Arsenal took their foot off the gas and showed maturity by keeping a clean sheet; thus producing an almost flawless performance.

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Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham (2012)

The stage was set for a massive North London derby. Arsenal were going through a terrible patch of results after being hammered 4-0 by A.C. Milan and getting knocked out of the F.A. Cup by Sunderland. Next up was Spurs who were making the trip to the Emirates and desperately hoping to destroy a fragile Arsenal team.

Tottenham looked well on their way to condemning Arsenal to another embarrassing defeat after going 2-0 up. Louis Saha put Spurs ahead thanks to a wicked deflection and then they were awarded a dubious penalty which former Arsenal player Emmanuel Adebayor scored from. Arsenal were under pressure and it looked like their season was about to get a lot worse.

Just before half-time the game changed in dramatic circumstances. First Bacary Sagna scored with a bullet of a header before Robin Van Persie drew the Gunners level with a sublime curling effort. The atmosphere inside the Emirates had in the space of five minutes changed from a stunned silence to a raucous celebration.

Everybody knew the comeback would spur Arsenal on to win the game and early in the second half they took the lead through Tomas Rosicky. Spurs were stunned and had no way of getting back into the game. Theo Walcott then scored two goals in quick succession to complete an astounding thrashing over their noisy neighbours. Not only was it a fantastic result in a derby game but it also ensured Arsenal got back on track and managed to finish the season in a respectable third place.

Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona (2011)

This was the first leg of a last 16 clash against the Spanish giants, Barcelona. Fielding world class players such as Messi, Iniesta, Villa and Xavi, Barcelona came into the tie as strong favourites.

Barcelona struck first in the 26th minute through David Villa after some nifty work from Lionel Messi. Arsenal found themselves under immense pressure as the half wore on but also spurned a great chance of their own after Robin Van Persie fired wide.

The second half saw Barcelona controlling possession and Messi was to blame for squandering a couple of glorious chances. Arsenal managed to hold on and with 12 minutes left to play the Emirates erupted after Van Persie’s rasping shot found the back of the net. The Gunners were back in it and with the crowd roaring them on they went all out for the win.

Barcelona had suddenly lost all composure under the pressure of a 60,000 strong Arsenal army baying for more. Samir Nasri found himself in space and played a dangerous looking ball into the box. It was up to Andrey Arshavin who dashed into the box and expertly guided the ball past Valdes to give Arsenal the lead. It sent every Arsenal fan into yet another state of ecstasy; a moment every Arsenal fan will always treasure.

What is your favourite Arsenal win at the Emirates? Let us know below…

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