UEFA Champions League Match Preview
Some would term it Mission-Impossible, while the others (the optimistic ones) would see this as an opportunity for Arsenal to once again prove their doubters wrong. Well, as a matter of fact being at the hot-seat at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger falls into the latter category as he refused to rule out the chances of his team to over-turn a 2 goal deficit.
Arsenal will have to score 3 goals against the team that is yet to concede a goal at home in this year’s Champions League.
With 5 straight Premier League wins, Arsenal would travel to the French city in order to restore the pride that was snatched away by Dimitar Berbatov and Co. in the first leg.
Looking at their form in the Premier League, the Arsenal squad is oozing confidence, delivering magnificent displays and more importantly, are in the Champions League places just 1 point behind the reigning Premier League Champions.
For some Arsenal fans, this is an achievement in a season in which they won only 1 of the first 5, while for the other – include Piers Morgan, there is no difference in being 4th or 2nd. Thus, no matter in which category you fall, Arsenal have been a major study of evolution this season.
Olivier Giroud has been the most in-form player for Arsenal coming into this match. He has scored 4 goals in his last 5 matches for the Gunners.
However, turning the side of the coin, Arsenal are in danger, danger of exiting once again in the knockout stages of a competition in which they have qualified for 17 seasons in a row. If you look at the number of times they have qualified, it is an achievement, however if you study their win/loss ratio, Shambles is the word.
Normalcy is a word that has become a synonym for Arsenal in the recent campaigns of Champions League football. While they qualify in the elite competition every season, by hook or by crook, the knockout stages are serving them the same pitfall as the numerous 2nd place finishes for Liverpool in the Premier League.
The only thing that differentiates the two teams is the timing: while Liverpool finish 2nd and falter next season, Arsenal, to their credit, oozes confidence, arrogance and ultimately, falls in the same campaign.
When they signed Sanchez and before him Ozil last season, there was a promise that was never made but was always in the back of Arsenal’s folklore’s minds. The promise of breaking the hoodoo, of breaking the jinx, of unfollowing the tradition, of refusing to fall in line and most importantly, of winning the Champions League.
However, unlike the above mentioned statements, Arsenal have failed to deliver when it matters, or for that case, when it ‘’knockouts’’ in the Champions League.
Here is how they are expected to lineup against Monaco: –
Arsenal starting lineup:
Ospina – Bellerin – Mertesacker – Koscielny – Monreal – Coquelin – Cazorla – Welbeck – Ozil – Sanchez – Giroud
Over to you, Mr. Wenger…
AS Monaco Vs Arsenal will take place at the Stade Louis II. Stadium on Tuesday 17th March at 20:45 GMT.
UEFA Champions League: How will Arsenal lineup against AS Monaco
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