THERE are few more satisfying things in life than to witness a great sporting moment in the flesh. On Saturday, I saw Andrei Arshavin destroy the Dutch.

For those of us willing and fortunate enough to travel in search of sporting drama, the occasional gem makes it all worthwhile.

Sometimes, that trek down the motorway will be doomed. The destination: a goalless draw between Southend and Doncaster or a washed-out cricket match.

But then there was the memory of being on Centre Court at Wimbledon on the precise day that the Pete Sampras era ended and the Roger Federer era began, as a virtually unknown Federer halted Sampras’ 31-match winning run.

And knowing you were there when Middlesbrough twice came from four goals down, against Basel and Steaua Bucharest, to reach the UEFA Cup Final.

June 21, 2008, will forever be the day I saw a 150,000-strong sea of orange silenced by the effortless grace of a solitary Russian.

Fortune meant that a ticket to the Euro 2008 quarter final between Holland and Russia in Basel came my way. The favourites against the fearless entertainers.

In the city, the Dutch staged a mass invasion that made Rangers’ recent occupation of Manchester look like a quiet village fête.

Men and women clad in brilliant orange packed the streets for as far as the eye could see. It was a maddening sight.

The famous Dutch brass band, strangely accompanied by a man wielding an uprooted street sign, serenaded the masses and a million footballs crashed around the squares. This was not the day for the locals to do their shopping.

And yet there was not the edge that would accompany such a large emigration of Brits. This was a celebration. The Dutch, who had seen their team cruise through the Group of Death, had their national pride back.

It would not last long, though. Arshavin saw to that.

I first saw Arshavin play for Zenit against Bolton in 2005.

The waterlogged conditions were some of the worst seen in England for years, yet he somehow retained the magical ability to run with the ball. His talent was obvious.

Incredibly, it has taken three years and a Zenit UEFA Cup Final win for the world to really notice Arshavin. On Saturday, he became one of the most sought-after players in European football.

The excitement of the crowd was palpable every time the ball fell at the feet of the greatest Russian player since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Arshavin controlled the match with calmness rather than flamboyance, inspiring the ambitious Russians to an enthralling victory.

The only pity was that, with thousands of Dutch fans ticketless, 1,000 seats lay empty in the Russian section.

The mid-match announcement that the stadium was 'sold out’ appeared little more than a stunt for the benefit of blissfully unaware television viewers.

There should not have been a spare seat in the house for such a fine display of free-flowing football.

It can only be hoped that English audiences will get chance to see Arshavin play in the Premier League next season.

He is worth the admission fee on his own.