Arsenal are the Premiership's sole representatives in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a goalless draw at Highbury completed a 1-0 aggregate victory over Real Madrid.
This was no dull stalemate though, rather a vibrant game that almost reached the attacking heights people dreamed it might. That it remained goalless was simply baffling.
From the off, this was breathless stuff. Ronaldo could have given Real Madrid the lead as early as the third minute, as he was left weirdly untended at the back post. He met Thomas Gravesen's cross with a downward header, but Jens Lehmann reacted sharply to shovel the ball wide.
After that nervous opening, Arsenal came to have the better of the first half, repeatedly advancing to the edge of the Madrid box only for their final ball to let them down.
When they are allowed to play, there are still few better teams than Arsenal, even if they do have a frustrating tendency to over-elaborate. With David Beckham's call for a pressing game having evidently gone unheeded, Arsenal were given licence to form great strings of passes.
A marvellous move that saw the ball moved from Thierry Henry to Alexander Hleb to Fredrik Ljungberg before arriving with Cesc abregas was only denied glorious fruition by the thigh of Roberto Carlos, and it was Michel Salgado's back that got in the way of Jose Antonio Reyes's effort after an Henry cutback just before the half-hour.
The same combination that created the best chance of the half two minutes before the break, Henry perhaps delaying his pass fractionally too long, leaving Reyes to snatch at his chance. He beat Iker Casillas, but his drive thumped against the crossbar.
Having failed to score when they had the advantage, there were always going to be nervous moments for Arsenal in the second half, none more so than the incident on the hour.
Raul, arriving on the edge of the box, smacked his shot against the inside of the post, but gathered the rebound, only for Lehmann to rise from his prone position and shove his follow-up wide.
Yet still Arsenal had the better of the chances. Hleb drove just wide and Casillas produced a superb diving save to his left to deflect an Henry curler round the post.
As Casillas came up for a corner, Robert Pires even had a 60-yard shot cleared off the line by Roberto Carlos. The goal that would have given them breathing space, though, never came, and by the end Arsenal were clinging on.
Every defensive header, every clearance was cheered, until at last, at the final whistle, there came the biggest cheer of all.
