Eberechi Eze has created many magical moments this season, but the goal against Bayer Leverkusen is probably the peak.
Eze's masterpiece helped Arsenal win a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they will face Sporting Lisbon, thereby continuing to nurture hopes of conquering the historic quadruple. Declan Rice then sealed the victory with an accurate finish, affirming the European level of the "Gunners" and the potential to go far this season.
The Emirates Stadium exploded, just 3 days after Max Dowman's genius moment in the match against Everton. Fireworks, music and a passionate atmosphere were created before the match started, with the goal of putting pressure on Leverkusen. Smoke covered the space, and tension was evident as Arsenal entered a pivotal week.
The victory over Everton helped coach Mikel Arteta's team widen the gap at the top of the Premier League to 9 points. Ahead of them is the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City this weekend.
Not only that, after topping the Champions League group stage with a perfect record and participating in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Arsenal is being considered the leading candidate for the European championship.
Arteta's ambition is well-founded, because not many teams have the opportunity to compete on all four fronts like that. In the first leg, Arsenal played below par and only got a draw thanks to Kai Havertz's controversial penalty into his old team's net.
Entering the second leg, Arteta made personnel adjustments when Ben White replaced the injured Jurrien Timber, Viktor Gyokeres played highest in attack, and Leandro Trossard appeared from the start.
Trossard quickly left his mark with his energetic playing style. He created space in front of the penalty area and launched a shot forcing goalkeeper Janis Blaswich to fly and make an excellent save.
The Gunners continuously put pressure. Gabriel twice headed over the bar from Bukayo Saka's corner kicks, while Declan Rice also tried his luck with a long-range shot but could not beat Blaswich.
The Leverkusen goalkeeper played focused when continuously denying opportunities from Saka and Trossard. However, the one-sided game was finally concretized.
The explosive moment came in an incredibly impressive way. After a combination between Piero Hincapie and Rice, the ball was brought to Eze's position. This midfielder controlled the ball neatly, turned around and then launched a long shot from a distance of more than 20m, sending the ball straight into the top corner of the goal.
The Emirates Stadium seemed to burst into tears after the goal. Eze once again proved his ability to shine in important moments. After a hat-trick and a double against Tottenham before that, this goal can be considered his most beautiful goal of the season.
Arsenal continued to dominate, but still lacked a bit of accuracy to finish the match earlier. Jarell Quansah made a save right on the goal line, stopping Hincapie's shot by a hair's breadth.
First of all, enjoy tonight. There will be a delicious dinner, then tomorrow we will start preparing for the match against Man City at Wembley with great excitement and positivity, to achieve the first goal of the season.
We need the Emirates atmosphere at Wembley. So, everyone must be present, carrying energy, faith and determination that we will do it" - Arteta said after the match.
