A 'bookmark' moment for every Arsenal fan

[BBC]

[Getty Images]

There are moments for a football fan in your life in which you have an instant mental 'bookmark' that you can make based on a result.

On Tuesday night, with the best atmosphere I have ever experienced at the Emirates stadium, those Arsenal players gave us fans another 'bookmark' moment.

I was one year into my first job when this feeling came around last time.

Here I am 20 years later, able to re-live it, and that is a special feeling.

It was not a vintage Arsenal performance – it didn't need to be – but it was one that was all about the occasion.

And credit to Mikel Arteta and those players, they showed no signs of wilting under any kind of pressure at all. Instead, they harnessed the energy from the crowd, who showed up in their droves from 5.30pm to greet the team bus at 5.45pm. And the atmosphere just cranked up by every minute until the full-time whistle blew.

I haven't seen the concourse rocking like it was inside the ground a full 35 minutes before kick-off.

I haven't heard 'North London Forever' being sung with such gusto (they didn't even play the whole song, they let the home crowd go acapella). At half-time throughout the concourse the noise went up again, then at full-time there was barely an empty seat in the house. And all over the world, there will be Arsenal fans who have their latest 'bookmark'.

History has been made. We know nothing is won yet, we know there could still be heartbreak both domestically and in Europe that awaits, but these are fears for another day.

Today we have only delight. Arsenal are on their way to the Champions League final.

Find more from Chris Howard at Suburban Gooners and the Same Old Arsenal Podcast