I don’t want to get too carried away on the basis of finally topping a group, but if we get out of the habit of finishing 2nd in a group, surely the next step is progressing through the last 16 in god knows how long.
I really fancy us to do a proper run at it this season we’re well overdue a good run in this competition. It’s been 7 years already since we made it as far as the semis. Not going to be easy juggling with domestic hopes as well, but fuck it, if we can get through last 16, anything might be possible after that. Time to break some tired old patterns!
I’ve been saying this for a few years but given how much hard work we made of PSG, and how, if we are anything really, it’s flat-track bullies (when we can just Real Madrid opposition and Wenger’s tactical ineptitude doesn’t really come to matter), it’s gonna take some friendly draws and some nice luck for it happen.
Like I said in another post, I think we’ve got a better chance of nicking a few lucky results against big opposition in the league and fluking our way into something of a title push.
Get Copenhagen in ro16 - troll a Danish team full of Swedes with a Norwegian manager
Get Bayern next - agent Özil and sidekick Mustafi drag it across the line for us
Get Atletico in the semis - 0-0 * 2 -> beat them on penalties
Get Barca in the finals - REVENGE.ORG
The thing is that we would need to beat at least 2-3 really top teams to win the cup over two legs and I really don’t think we have that in us. We might win one big tie but I can’t see us repeating it consistently enough to challenge seriously.
If we could even manage to take down a top team in a tie it would be an improvement. We might not deserve to win it but if we could get into the latter stages some of our players might actually come to life.
It genuinely just seems like we approach this competition like place holders.
The CL is always very draw dependant, but I think we can go into the last 8. Confident of beating Benfica/Porto and would have us as minor favourites against Sevilla/Leverkusen. Madrid and Bayern the teams to avoid, but hopefully Dortmund come 2nd (I’d rank that tie at 50:50).
Couldn’t say without seeing the draw. For a team like Arsenal to go far in the Champions League, they have to be compact, organised defensively but also diverse and clinical when we get our opportunities to go forward. What ends up happening usually though is that we’re too open and lulled in for this style of contest. These are the most elite tactical battles in the game and we’d have to win without outplaying most of the teams we would face. I’m talking those wins over Dortmund and Bayern away as the kind of blueprints for succeeding here. Those are what English teams have had to do away from home against Europe’s best. We have the players, but we need something special from the manager also. He rarely delivers in these moments though.
Getting to the quarter finals would feel like a run to me seeing as it hasn’t happened for so bloody long. And aside from Real (who I’m still confident will finish top) I reckon we could give any of the potential second placed teams a game. And then we’ll get vertigo in the QF and collapse
As long as we win in the last 16 and avoid the elite teams in the quarters I think we could make the semis, where we’ll be utterly destroyed.
edit: just looking at the lay of the land, Bayern, Madrid and maybe Sevilla would give us trouble in the last 16 so that’s 2/6 or 3/6. This fucking competition
If we get a decent draw we can do well in this.
The teams that traditionally are the best in the CL don’t seem as dominant this season, and we look as strong as most of them.
We could get to the semi finals if we avoid Barcelona after the next round, and I fancy our chances against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, if we get either of them, so maybe even the final.
