'Even at 3-0 up, it is going to be a very long 90 minutes'
Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford on Saturday had the feeling of the second day of a wedding - still on a high from the night before, but perhaps failing to rally to the same heights again after such a small amount of time.There will be time to dissect why Arsenal have drawn so many games this season in the Premier League, and why we dominate but do not always kill off teams.But this is not the time. Right now, it is about the Champions League.The footage of Declan Rice's wonderful double last week has been slowly scarring itself into the retinas of Arsenal fans everywhere. But with every replay I have watched, and every time I have reminded myself that we actually did beat Real Madrid 3-0, the bad thoughts are starting to creep in.Nearly a week on and the catastrophising has begun. For reasons I cannot explain, my brain has been on a mission to remind me of every time Arsenal have thrown away a significant lead.First up it was against Newcastle in 2011, which saw Arsenal concede four second-half goals having been 4-0 up at half-time. Next on this reel of nightmares is the 3-3 against Anderlecht in 2014, followed swiftly by the consecutive games in 2023 where Arsenal gave up 2-0 leads against Liverpool and West Ham respectively.But this is not the Arsenal of old. This team is different. Even with Gabriel sidelined, our backline is strong. Although Rice's exploits were rightly the centre of attention from the first leg, Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly had the Real Madrid frontline on lockdown for the majority of the second half. There is no reason to believe they cannot do that again, regardless of what intimidation tactics Real Madrid plan to use.I will be honest though, I will be watching Wednesday's second leg from behind a cushion and even behind my entire sofa. Even at 3-0 up, it is going to be a very long 90 minutes.Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast, external
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