So Friday night saw me at a big event at the Viking Stadion in Stavanger as local Tippeligaen side Viking welcomed the mighty Arsenal to their home for a friendly match.
It was part of Arsenal's Scandanavian tour and it had certainly caused a buzz in and around the City. Below are a couple of snaps I took as the Gunners arrived at the stadium to what could only be described as a heroes welcome, seeing as Stavanger has a rather large Arsenal fan base, as does Norway in fact.
Premier League football is big in Norway if truth be told and argubly more popular than their own top division, the Tippeligaen. So for a top English side like Arsenal to visit their stadium was a very big deal indeed.
You could feel the atmosphere building inside the stadium as kick off approached and when it did arrive the atmosphere was electric, here are some snaps of that below.
Anyway how would the local side deal with Arsenal's threat. Well after only a couple of minutes it looked as though the Gunners would take an early lead when they were awarded a penalty after the visitors had sliced through the hosts with their first real attack of any note. It did look like a dive if truth be told but host keeper Ivan Austbo saved Santi Cazorla's spot kick and the game remained level.
Austbo managed to make another two notible saves in the first half hour to keep the visitors at bay although the hosts were causing the Arsenal defence some alarm on occasions as they did not look overawed by the occasion. However on 33 minutes the Arsenal finally broke Viking's resistance when a ball into the dangerzone saw Mo Elneny rise to head towards goal and Joel Campbell applied the faintiest of touches to make sure the ball ended up in the net.
This proved the only goal of the half too, and although the Gunners, who looked that one or two yards quicker all over the field and had done most of the pressing, were only one goal to the good and Viking had done very well in the first half.
However the hosts then changed almost their entire eleven at the start of the second half, swapping their regulars for some of the more fringe players, including their keeper Heigre, who within fifteen minutes of the second half starting had conceded four further goals as the Gunners tore their opponents to shreds.
Cazorla had already volleyed inches wide moments into the second half but five minutes into it made it two when he thumped a brilliant effort intot the net from outside the box, making amends for that earlier missed spot kick. Three minutes later it was 3-0 when Theo Walcott thumped home his first of the night as the Viking back up eleven just could not live with this Arsenal side.
Another two minutes had elapsed when the Gunners made it four when Campbell burst into the box and saw his tricky cross to the backpost bundled home by Viking defender Michael Haukas for an unfortunate own goal and then just before the hour mark the visitors made it four goals in ten devestating minutes when outrageous football from the Premier League side with some wonderful one touch passing and movement, ended with Campbell rifling home his second off the underside of the bar.
It had been scintilating stuff from the Gunners and these Viking players just did not know what to do as they were being well and truly outclassed. With about twenty minutes to Arsene Wenger decided to make five changes to his side with his troops five goals up and in cruise control.
One of those replacements, Alex Iwobi, capatisiled on some poor Viking play to score with minutes of coming on. The hosts gave the ball straight to Cazorla who laid in the substitute who fired past keeper Heigre with ease. The 13,933 inside the Viking Stadion were certainly being given a show of attacking football from the Arsenal side and with ten minutes left Iwobi thumped home his second in off the post and the Gunners seventh of the contest.
Another Arsenal sub Chuba Akpom added a late eighth as the Gunners completed the rout of their Norsk opponents. The first half was a good battle but once Viking had replaced their first eleven it was men against boys out there. Lets hope it doesn't effect the Stavanger side to much as they continue with their league season now.
Arsenal on the other hand now travel to Sweden and the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg to take on fellow Premier League rivals Manchester City. That should be a good test for them.
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