‘It was a beautiful night after such a long time,’ said an emotional Mikel Arteta.
It was the perfect night too for Arsenal. Their return to the Champions League could hardly have gone better. A 4-0 win to kickstart proceedings in a group they will expect to top come December.
Seven years these fans had waited. 2,388 days since their last Champions League game - a 5-1 defeat at home to Bayern in Arsene Wenger’s penultimate season in charge.
They have had European football since and even reached the Europa League final in 2019 but frankly, this is a competition that hits differently.