Watching the rapturous celebrations at the final whistle of Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates stirred up a strange and unfamiliar feeling, the kind we have to find a German word for. Ah, that’s it: freude.
Uncomfortably, there was no schaden here. So deep have we waded into the banter era of football it’s been easy to forget that vicarious joy used to be a thing; that being moved by the happiness of someone else is actually pretty good; that one of football’s most enriching and endearing qualities is good old-fashioned pleasure.
Arsenal fans and players may have forgotten that, too, after months of gruelling matches defined by a constant hum of anxiety, rising to intolerable levels before the dam broke a few days ago. Seeing the release on Tuesday, the unbridled joy, it was as if all the fear that has gripped Arsenal suddenly melted away; as if Arsenal, for the very first time, truly believed they were part of a great team destined to win things.
And yet the real moment things changed was 72 hours earlier at the same venue, when Bukayo Saka swaggered and slalomed his way through Fulham in a performance that was so long-forgotten it felt almost nostalgic.
"He turned into Raúl Jiménez into a breakdancer from the 80s" 😅
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 4, 2026
Thierry Henry on Bukayo Saka's assist vs Fulham 🔴 pic.twitter.com/12QI2hnR9T
It wasn’t just that Saka provided the energy, the verve, the life that kicked Arsenal out of their usual angst, nor that his assist and goal finished the job early, allowing the supporters and players to relax and enjoy themselves for once. It was that Saka reminded Arsenal what this project was founded on, long before the seized-up limbs and slow-motion set-pieces had begun to drag them down.
It was the Fulham performance that allowed Arsenal to finally let go of the pain of longing, to enjoy the process of getting to the destination. Without it, they could not have faced Atletico with so much zip or purpose, and therefore could not have experienced the rush of endorphins at the final whistle that was akin, or so it seemed, to actually winning a trophy. For Arteta and his players, just qualifying for the Champions League final appeared to represent the completion of a project; much-needed evidence they have arrived at the elite level.
For the rest of us, Saka’s performance against Fulham and Arsenal’s jubilance last night should draw into focus how much this team are upsetting the odds. Again, the pull of the bottle-job label has blinded us to this; to Arsenal’s financial weakness relative to Manchester City, Liverpool, or Chelsea, but also to the obstacles that have been in their path this season.
We haven’t seen Saka play like that for a long time, predominantly because he hasn’t been able to. Saka has started 23 of Arsenal’s 35 Premier League matches. Martin Odegaard has started 15 and Kai Havertz has started six. Every single time Arsenal have chugged through a game, have faced criticism for lacking attacking intensity, they have been without at least two of their star attackers.
It is no coincidence that Odegaard and Saka being fit to play together again, and with space for Eberechi Eze too, coincided with a sudden return to free-flowing football against Fulham. Until now Arsenal’s injuries have been underplayed, as has the over-achievement it is to even be this close, because you can criticise their style of football all you want but truthfully nobody thinks of players like Leandro Trossard, Myles Lewis-Skelly, or Ben White as title-winning quality.
That will change. Should Arsenal go on to win just one of the two trophies there will be a hasty rewrite of history, with Saka and Odegaard put centre-stage and the ground-out 1-0 wins repackaged as a show of mental strength.
All of that is to come, as long as Arsenal finish the job, and domestically they surely will. Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Everton on Monday night means Arteta’s side only have to draw at West Ham United on Sunday to stay in control – and, quite frankly, to seal the deal. All that would remain is Burnley at home and Crystal Palace on the final day, a fixture that comes just three days before Palace potentially play in the Conference League final.
Both teams will roll over. Arsenal, then, have two finals to play, not four. Having rediscovered how to enjoy football, having welcomed back their superstar on the right, having unshackled themselves from the fear that gripped them for too long, all of a sudden Arsenal have all the tools they need to win the Premier League and the Champions League.
Do that, and the arrows slung at Arsenal will stop. In their place: the image of Saka and a joyful Arsenal side who did what needed to be done - and thoroughly deserve their success.
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