A veritable opening of the floodgates saw Arsenal thump Viking Stavanger 8-0 in the last of their international preseason friendlies, though it was the pregame ceremonies rather than the hefty scoreline that raised the most quizzical eyebrows.
Out in the middle of the pitch, Arsene Wenger was presented with a large sword, with the Arsenal boss duly forced to feign a smile while simultaneously pondering whether or not he had enough space on his mantelpiece for such a strange and unorthodox gift.
What's the boss going to do with that sword?!
�� https://t.co/Q2eeQLuKAq pic.twitter.com/CiEaWm2x0s
- Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 6, 2016
Asked by the Arsenal website what he intended to do with the sword after the match, Wenger simply replied: "I don't know!"
Yep. We thought as much.