It is not something that Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal players need to worry about for while, with the games in the knockout phase not taking place until February, but we now know the identity of the team that will stand in the way of a place in the quarter-finals.
And the Gunners’ shocking bad luck shows no sign of getting any better, because we have been drawn against last year’s winners and the favourites to win it again this time, Bayern Munich. Oh well, it could be worse I suppose, there could be a giant asteroid heading on a collision course with planet Earth.
Well I am looking for something to be positive about and there are one or two things. Firstly, Arsenal beat Bayern 2-0 at the Allianz at the same stage last year and nearly knocked the Bundesliga giants out. We had already lost at home though, with an awful performance at the Emirates. But beating them in Germany should help the players and take away the fear factor.
Secondly, Guardiola’s team has just been beaten by a second string Man City, further eroding their aura of invincibility, so all hope is not lost, just most of it. You would have to say that Arsenal are massive underdogs, but football is a funny game and anything can happen.
Also, if Wenger has any pretensions of getting through the next phase, he will have to do some good business in the January transfer window. But really, it should focus our attention on the Premier League and FA cup, With Tottenham parting company with AVB today, and Arsenal having home advantage, the cup tie on January 4th is looking good and should give us a real boost, as long as we win it of course.
But getting Bayern for the second year in a row just seems like a cruel and unusual punishment.
