Less than two months ago, the insane fervor of Bollaert, a masterclass by Elye Wahi and a wonderful recovery from Adrien Thomasson had given RC Lens and even all of French football its greatest emotion of the first part of the season against Arsenal (2-1). How fast this sport goes, as its players constantly remind us, when we see the abysmal difference on Wednesday between Gunners and Sang et Or during this Champions League return match (6-0). One of the heroes of the first leg, Adrien Thomasson, perfectly summed up the rout suffered on beIN SPORTS: “We were pretty well in place but Arsenal scored on their first real chance, which hurt us a lot. And then it happens so quickly. We were devastated, it was like the sky was falling on us. We had a nightmare in the first half from the first goal.”
And for good reason, only a quarter of an hour of play passed between Kai Havertz’s opening score (1-0, 13th)… and Gabriel Martinelli’s fourth goal (4-0, 27th)! This shows you the scale of a shipwreck, as Arsenal were “clinical”, as William Saliba rightly pointed out. Six goals for eight shots on target and 2.59 expected goals, that looks like extreme optimization. Almost anecdotal, the last two achievements of Odegaard (5-0, 45th + 1) and Jorginho from the penalty spot (6-0, 86th) made the evening even more humiliating for the reigning French vice-champion.
A draw against Sevilla will be enough to switch to the Europa League
Given the magnitude of the “lesson”, Franck Haise rather spared his men: “I don’t have many regrets, and I’m not angry, there was too much of a gap between the two teams. This means that we are not able to raise our level more regularly but that we can only make shots.” This lack of regularity is therefore fatal for the rest of the adventure in the Champions League (PSV Eindhoven qualified on Wednesday), but a draw or a success at home against Sevilla in two weeks would be synonymous with the 16th final of the League. Europe.
Until then, the emblematic defensive trio Medina-Danso-Gradit will have to regain their splendor, as this slap at the Emirates Stadium is also theirs. Don’t worry too much though, the monstrous offensive trident Martinelli-Gabriel Jesus-Saka will give way on Saturday to Nuamah-Baldé-Kadewere, which would put many teams back on their feet.