We anticipated this when the draw came out, because Dortmund, Auxerre, and Eindhoven are all quite reachable without flying. Previous years have seen us always paired against sides from Greece, Spain, and other far-flung places.

The feeling that Dennis would be desperate to go to the first stage away matches was reinforced by his display last night when he looked more up for it than anyone (not just the sublime touches but one of those games where he harries the defenders at every opportunity).

But it remains to be seen what Wenger's attitude will be. Bergkamp has expressed his desire to travel overland to matches before (not all our away european games have been far away), and Wenger has almost always decided to leave him at home. When Bobby and Freddie are both fit, and if Wiltord, Henry, and one of Kanu/Jeffers are available, we can imagine Le Boss deciding to keep Bergkamp fresh for the next domestic game instead.

Dennis really wants to win this competition with Arsenal. He will presumably be encouraged by the fact that the final will be very much reachable. Travel-wise at least. Getting through to it on the pitch is another matter. Following Real Madrid's 3-0 win away to Roma (and without Ronaldo), it's hard not to feel that there is already only actually one place in the final up for grabs!