Sharjah24 – Reuters: Arsenal's fans had waited nine long months to return to the club's north London stadium but the 2,000 people sprinkled across the red seats had to wait only nine minutes to enjoy the thrill of celebrating a goal in the flesh again on Thursday.

Appropriately, it was Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette who struck the opener in a 4-1 victory over Rapid Vienna -- the same player who 272 days earlier had scored the winner against West Ham United, days before the COVID-19 pandemic swept in.

Lacazette described it as "amazing" while his team mate Ainsley Maitland-Niles said: "We've waited a long time. It's just great to have that sound back and have our 12th man back."

While English soccer re-started in June following a three-month hiatus, the country's gleaming Premier League stadiums have since been eerily silent and sad places on match days with fans watching from afar on TV.

With the capital placed in the government's Tier Two restrictions following the end of national lockdown, Arsenal were the first top-flight club to have the opportunity to open the turnstiles to a limited number of fans.

Normally a dead-rubber Europa League group game against such modest opposition, with Christmas looming, might have been an excuse for a night on the sofa or the local shopping centre.

But it felt like a momentous occasion for the lucky few with tickets on a cold and damp north London night.