And it was all going so swimmingly. Four minutes up and Arsenal are ahead, seemingly cruising to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Fast forward 86 minutes and their European hopes are in tatters. Unai Emery and his side are in trouble. Big trouble.
They can, of course, salvage the situation in next week’s second leg at the Emirates.
Arsenal's players look dejected after falling behind goal during Thursday's disappointing defeat to Rennes
Sokratis Papastathopoulos is shown a red card by referee Ivan Kruzliak after picking up his second yellow in the first half
Petr Cech (left) looks on as Benjamin Bourigeaud wheels away in celebration after drawing his side level before half-time
Cech can only watch as Nacho Monreal's (right) deflection makes its way into the net midway through the second half
Ismaila Sarr (left) is congratulated by his team-mates after netting a third goal in the closing stages of the last-16 showdown
Arsenal manager Unai Emery could not hide his frustration as his side collapsed after going down to 10 men
RENNES (4-4-1-1): Koubek 6.5; Zeffane 7, Da Silva 7, Mexer 7, Bensebaini 8; Bourigeaud 9 (Lea Siliki 73), Andre 8, Grenier 8 (Gelin 90), Sarr 8; Ben Arfa 7.5; Hunou 7
Subs not used: Badiashile, Doumbia, Johansson, Lauriente, Del Castillo
Goals: Bourigeaud 42, Monreal 65 og, Sarr 88
Booked: Bourigeaud, Zeffane
Manager: Julien Stephan 8
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Cech 7.5; Mustafi 5, Sokratis 4, Koscielny 5, Monreal 4; Xhaka 5, Torreira 6; Mkhitaryan 5, Ozil 5 (Ramsey 70, 5), Iwobi 6.5 (Guendouzi 53, 5); Aubameyang 5 (Kolansinac 79).
Subs: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Suarez, Nketiah
Goal: Iwobi 3
Booked: Xhaka
Red card: Sokratis
Manager: Unai Emery 6
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (SVK) - 6.5
Attendance: 29,171
MOM: Bourigeaud
And they’ve done it before; recovering from a shock 1-0 loss to BATE Borisov in the first leg to stroll into the last 16 in the return game just last month.
But this isn’t BATE Borisov. Rennes look a proper football team. Brimming with swagger and ability - they undoubtedly have the tools to complete the job in seven days time.
Emery will back his team to reach the quarter finals. But on this evidence - despite playing the majority of the game with 10 men following Sokratis’ sending off just before half time - overturning the deficit could well beyond Arsenal.
Back in France for the first time since losing his job at Paris Saint Germain, Emery fielded a strong team that included Mesut Ozil, whose reintegration back into his manager’s plans appeared to be gathering pace until this showing.
When the going got tough, Ozil reverted to type - crumbling at the first sight of difficulty. Emery still feels he can’t trust Ozil on tough away days. This proved the Arsenal manager is completely.
Rennes have their own enigmatic, sometimes troublesome, maverick, of course. Hatem Ben Arfa, who sensationally fell out wth Emery during the pair’s time together at Paris Saint Germain, starting for the French side.
But it was his fellow forward Benjamin Bourigeaud who stole the show. Arsenal couldn't get near the winger at times - his brilliant equaliser worth the entrance fee alone.
The game was billed as the biggest occasion in the club's 118 year history. It certainly sounded like, home supporters - who queued up over night to secure their tickets - ludicrously loud ahead of kick-off.
Alex Iwobi attempts to play a cross in the opening stages of Arsenal's Europa League clash with Rennes on Thursday
Iwobi (back, centre) watches on as his attempted cross evades a crowd of players and makes its way in off the upright
