The Arsenal manager, Jonas Eidevall, had said that the team’s Champions League group stage opener against the reigning champions, Lyon, would be a “reality check to see where we’re at”.
The small contingent of travelling Gunners fans could be forgiven for thinking they had stepped into an alternate reality: where they were “at” was in seventh heaven, as the Ballon d’Or runner-up, Beth Mead, and Australian forward Caitlin Foord both scored twice in a 5-1 demolition of the tournament’s most successful side.
