WHILE Arsenal’s 1-1 Europa League draw with Benfica in Rome this week wasn’t the most effective performance, there was an instructive moment of magic that thrilled from the Gunners’ Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard. 

In a crowded box, the former teen prodigy showed what hardened pros might call “quick feet,” using his abundant technique and no little guile to move the ball in a confined space — bamboozling opponents bearing down on him.  

It was as fleeting as it was glorious: blink and you would have missed it. Which is exactly what the Gunners’ original temporary signing from the Bernabeu, Dani Ceballos, did with the resulting chance Odegaard created. 

But the vignette warmed the heart and should have excited any true fan of elegance, flair and creativity — “illusion,” as the Spanish call it.

Of course, Arsenal fans on Twitter didn’t take too kindly to the result. Yes, Arsenal could and should have put the tie to bed. That they didn’t was mostly due to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s failure to make the most of the gilt-edged chances that fell his way. 

But the post-match noise on the social media platform made you thankful that the medium wasn’t around in 1994, during the north Londoners’ majestic Cup Winners’ Cup triumph — still the last continental trophy lifted by the club.

Under George Graham’s canny guidance, against all odds, Arsenal beat a gilded Palma side 1-0 in the final through a mixture of grit, resolution, determination, esprit de corps and character. 

This correspondent went to eight of the nine matches during that memorable run across the continent, including the never-to-be-forgotten clash at the Parken Stadium against the crack Serie-A side, which contained the likes of Faustino Asprilla and Gianfranco Zola. 

I even wrote a book about it, The Miracle of Copenhagen, which is still available at good bookshops everywhere. If only they were allowed to open. 

But there were bumps in the road. Springing to mind are a dull 0-0 at the Stadio delle Alpi and a hard-fought 1-1 against a PSG side containing George Weah and David Ginola, at a raucous Parc de Princes in the semi-final — before 1-0 to the Arsenal ensured victories in both ties. 

We’re lucky Twitter wasn’t around then. Imagine the immediate post-match reaction. A goalless draw against Torino? Rubbish! A 1-1 draw in Paris. Useless! 

Ironically the foundations of that famous 1994 victory were prompted by a juddering European Cup defeat at the hands of Benfica three years earlier. It was a seminal result, the shockwaves of which altered the mindset of Graham and his teams thereafter. 

Having earned a creditable 1-1 draw through a Kevin Campbell goal at the original Stadium of Light, the Gunners looked well set to progress in that evocative, crumbling, cavernous bowl in Lisbon.

But in early November 1991, after 90 minutes of fraught action in the second leg, the score at long-lost Highbury replicated the clash two weeks prior, with 30 additional minutes necessary to decide the winner. 

With hindsight, perhaps it wasn’t the wisest tactic that an exuberant Arsenal side continued wave after wave of all-out attack. Bolstered by scoring six in the previous round against Austria Vienna, there was an element of naivety from Graham’s side in flooding forward in search of a winner to kill off Benfica.  

Step forward two visiting players, Isias and Yuran, who benefitted from the home side ceding possession during splenetic probing and counter-attacked with deadly force to win the tie 3-1 in extra time. 

Arsenal were utterly shell-shocked, having been considered one of the favourites to lift the trophy. 

The pain was compounded by the knowledge they failed to build upon their imperious procession to the 1991 Division One title. They lost only a single league game on the way, in an achievement which has never received the acclaim it deserved.

Graham analysed the Benfica defeat and concluded that defence was paramount. 

A commitment to vibrant, attacking football fell by the wayside. So too did league results, with Arsenal finishing the first season of the Premier League in 10th place. 

The flip side was that the club prioritised cup silverware. They were successful too. In that same season, 1992-93, the club won the FA Cup and League Cup, eclipsing an excellent Sheffield Wednesday side in both, while 12 months later the club achieved that miracle in Copenhagen.

But it was at a cost. Flair players were sidelined. The famous back line emerged as an impressive unit — but also as a tactic. The defence became renowned for a “Thou shalt not pass” ethos. 

Ultimately Graham lost his job as league results worsened in 1995, amid off-field rumours about alleged “bungs.” It was a sad end to a wonderful era.  

They say history repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce — so Arsenal supporters everywhere must hope the lessons of 1991 are not replicated in the second leg against Benfica in Athens on Thursday.

Not least because we’d like to see far more of the creative Odegaard.