Arsenal officially qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
After a thrilling 210 minutes of football, Arsenal and FC Porto were unable to be separated, and the bout had to be decided on penalties. Arsenal advanced to the quarterfinals of the UCL thanks to David Raya’s two penalty saves and his teammates’ four well-hit penalties.
Our Gunners will find out who their next Champions League opponents are on Friday after the UCL quarterfinals draw. As the competition nears its climax, the level of competition intensifies, resulting in more challenging matches to come.
Opponents such as Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and the other two could pose challenges for our Arsenal in the quarterfinals. However, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is embracing the opportunity to play the best of the best and thinks that they aren’t concerned about who they might face next in the Champions League.
Arsenal, as per the Norwegian, are determined to compete at the highest level, aiming to win the Champions League at Wembley, where Mikel Arteta has maintained an unbeaten record as a coach.
“That’s where we want to be. We want to be on the biggest stage,” remarked the Arsenal skipper in the Standard. “We want to play the biggest games and fight for the biggest trophies. So, that’s where we want to be. To be honest, we can’t think like that (wanting to avoid someone).
It’s the biggest tournament in the world and no matter what team we get, it’s going to be a good team. But we will just take what we get, and we will try to win.”
Arsenal’s qualification for the Champions League after a six-year absence left some questioning their readiness to compete in the tournament. Despite critics’ doubts, they silenced them by winning their group with an impressive 13 points.
Following the group stage, they advanced past FC Porto in the round of 16 and are now preparing for the quarterfinals. Contemplating what Martin Odegaard said, the fact is that if we want to be the best, we have to beat the best.
So bring it on!
COYG!
Darren N
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Odegaard is perfectly right. There is no point in thinking who we will get in the QF because at some point or other we will have to face the big teams and so we have to be ready to face them. If we want to win the CL we have to prepare to beat every team left in the competition. Playing strong teams improves the confidence of the players and gives them the experience of facing the best in Europe which is great for this young side.
A kind draw is a good thing nonetheless.
Dortmund, Bayern or PSG.
Trust me when i say i haven’t lost a minute sleep since this campaign has started.
Bryan Munich is the team i would like Arsenal to face next, but a fan was quick to point out we have a poor history with the German Champion.
Maybe that’s a next reason we need to face them, to get this monkey off our back once and for all.
This year champions league is different that no dark horses are there, and if we exclude one team from Italy these 8 teams are definitely among top 10 clubs in the world right now. So, really can’t be selective here at the moment. Or if we have to select the weakest then may be dortmund or Atletico. But whoever is there it will be 50-50 match for sure.