Arsenal went a solid six seasons without making it into the Champions League. But last season, they finally broke the streak and quilified at last. Arteta and his team fully embraced the challenge of the Premier European Competition. They topped the group, despite a loss to Lens, and fully deserved their place in the knockouts.
They came out on top in Group A, with 4 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw and managed to secure a spot in the Champions League round of 16, and were paired up against the experienced Portugese Champions FC Porto.
A lot of people who saw the Arsenal versus FC Porto match round of 16 fixture thought it would be a breeze for Arsenal.
But even with belief, there are still a few things that might mess up the Gunners and stop them from making it to the highly anticipated Champions League quarter-finals.
What are these things?
1. Squad Depth
Arsenal’s squad is pretty talented, but they might struggle to keep up with the demands of competing on multiple fronts due to a lack of depth. As the season goes on, injuries and fatigue might become bigger issues, especially with the busy Premier League schedule and the Champions League.
During the match against West Ham, Arsenal had several players missing due to injuries. Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Oleksander Zinchenko, Tomiyasu, and Jurrien Timber were all unable to play. This highlighted the potential challenges that Mikel Arteta’s squad could face when dealing with injuries.
2. Lack of consistency:
Arsenal have had some great moments this season, but they’ve also struggled with inconsistency. The team’s lack of experience in the Champions League could put them at a disadvantage, especially in crucial knockout matches. They’re on a 4-game winning streak, and, as excited as we are about them keeping up that impressive run, we’ll just have to wait and see how they handle playing in the Premier League and the Champions League.
3. Lack of Experience at the Top Level:
Arsenal has a pretty young and exciting squad, but they might struggle a bit when it comes to handling the intense pressure of the knockout stages in the Champions League. Taking on FC Porto, a seasoned European giant with past experience in knockouts, is no small feat for the relatively inexperienced Gunners. How they handle the pressure of must-win matches will play a big role in deciding their fate.
But let’s not count Arsenal out just yet. They’ve got a really talented squad, a manager who’s really passionate, and their fans are always there to support them, no matter what. If they can address the issues raised above, they could potentially surprise FC Porto in the round of 16 and make it to the Champions League quarter-finals, and hopefully even go past that as they target to play the final at Wembley, where Arteta as a coach hasn’t lost a game.
Daniel O
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Nobody knows what to expect of us in Europe.
4-0 aggregate for Arsenal. Calling it.
We must score as much as possible in our 1st leg, doing this would ease further tension,
I really hope we win.