The Jack Wilshere goal against Norwich City basically encapsulated what Arsenal have been about this season - verve, style, panache with a touch or two of class.
On Tuesday night, they will be up against a side with all of the above-mentioned characteristics as Arsenal host Borussia Dortmund in what promises to be an absolute humdinger of a Champions League match.
Two years ago the two sides met in the group stages, and Arsenal qualified for the last 16 at the expense of Dortmund, who it must be said were just at the beginning of their European revival.
"[In 2011] they were short of experience in the Champions League and since then they have reached the final last year, so they will have more confidence," Arsene Wenger said. "The structure of the team and the quality of the team is similar."
Indeed it is. They still have Jurgen Klopp, the madcap, extremely charismatic and brilliant manager guiding his troops into battle every time - an aesthetically pleasing, fast-paced, high octane battle it must be said.
The young core, barring Mario Gotze is also very much there and this Dortmund side, as they showed last season, are as capable of beating any side in Europe as anybody.
"Arsenal have kept their style despite the criticism," Klopp, touted as possibly one of Wenger's successors in the future, said. "I feel their style has always been modern and now I feel it is working well. I've been impressed with Arsenal's development and it will be two teams playing very well playing each other."
Arsenal have six points from two games in Group F to Dortmund's three, and a win on Tuesday for the English Premier League side, they will pretty much be a foot-and-a-half out the door to the knockout rounds.
The Gunners were supposed to be put to the test by high-flying Napoli in the previous match, but Mesut Ozil and co. put the Italian side to the sword in some style, playing them completely out of the park with a stunning first half performance.
If Arsenal show up with the same quality again, right from the off, then Dortmund, irrespective of their own quality will have problems. Klopp, therefore, will be wary of conceding an early goal, and will want his players to make sure they put Arsenal under pressure as much as possible.
"[German teams] don't hide and we don't hide, so it should be an exciting game," Wenger said. "Their efficiency is their quality, their ability to take their chances. We go into the game focused on our quality and performance. We have to come out of the match and feel that we have played at our best, and at our best we can challenge anybody."
A lot of the times when two big teams play each other, they cancel each other out. However, considering the attacking form that Arsenal are in at the moment, and the prowess that Dortmund have on the counter-attack, while also playing a high-pressing game, this really does have all the makings of a classic European night.
Team News: Theo Walcott has suffered a setback to his stomach injury, and will be out for another couple of weeks for Arsenal, while long-term absentees Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Abou Diaby remain sidelined. Mathieu Flamini is also ruled out after the midfielder was taken off in the first half against Norwich following a clash of heads.
Dortmund will be without Sebastian Kehl, Lukasz Piszczek and Ilkay Gundogan, while Marcel Schmelzer (unused substitute), Nuri Sahin, Sven Bender and Marco Reus all returned to action in the 1-0 win over Hannover at the weekend.
Key men: Arsenal: Germany international Mesut Ozil will be keen to make an impression against the Bundesliga club, but it is hard to look beyond the current form of Aaron Ramsey, who scored a sumptuous individual goal against Norwich on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund: While Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski are the obvious choices, Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be keen to make an impression against a really top side like Arsenal, and the playmaker's goalscoring ability could come to the fore on Tuesday.
Where to watch
The game is scheduled for a 12.15 a.m. IST start on Wednesday morning with live telecast on Ten Sports.
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Wilshere; Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla; Giroud.
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Grosskreutz, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer; Bender, Sahin; Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Reus; Lewandowski.
Prediction: 2-2
