We begin our Champions League conquest today in Italy. It’s a new season, new format and new hope to win something, or at least make it to the end. All of Arsenal are ready to make an impact and players, who have dreamt of playing in Champions League, are going to start today in an attempt to prove they are one of the best football players on the planet.
We, as a club, has come a long way. Last 10-15 years haven’t been good, but we are fighting on two fronts and I’m excited than ever. Martin Odegaard’s unavailability makes me a bit nervous but someone from that playing XI will take up the opportunity to let us not miss our captain.
Let’s go through the new format, whom we are going to play in Champions League this year in League Phase and what’s my expectation against Atlanta today.
Champions League new format explained
We have a change to the Champions League format from this year. There are 36 teams participating, and each club will play against 8 others club (4 away, 4 home games). Top 8 teams out of the 36 will qualify automatically for the round of 16 knockout stage, while the teams finishing between 9th and 24th place will have to compete in a play off in a home and away game.
Rest 12 teams will be eliminated.
So, we have 4 extra teams this year. There is no home and away in the first round called League Phase, you get to play 8 different teams with half of those games at home and other half away. Every other team does the same and the top 8 of this League Phase table qualifies for the round of 16. The other 8 teams are selected between the next 16 spots, where they play a home and away game against another team and the best 8 of these qualifies as well.
Right, so we have been left with 16 teams now after League Phase. From round of 16, the format remains same as last year, a home and away game till finals with whoever losing gets eliminated. Final remains a single game at a neutral venue.
So, which 8 teams are playing?
Arsenal Champions League fixtures
We get to play Atlanta, Inter, Sporting, Girona away from home and games against PSG, Shakhtar, Monaco and Dinamo at home.
Atlanta v Arsenal – Sep 19th
Arsenal v PSG – Oct 01
Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk – Oct 22
Inter Milan v Arsenal – Nov 06
Sporting v Arsenal – Nov 26
Arsenal v Monaco – Dec 11
Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb – Jan 22
Girona v Arsenal – Jan 29
If you ask me, we have a rather easier Champions League draw but you can’t take a CL game lightly. Only last night, City dropped points against Inter at home in a goalless draw.
With the new format, there’s a challenge to finish in the top 8 to avoid 2 extra knockoff games and to qualify directly to the round of 16. To do that, you indirectly compete with the likes of Man City, Liverpool, Bayern, PSG, Juventus, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Leverkusen, AC Milan and Dortmund. That’s 12 top teams in Europe and there are few others which can beat any team on their best days. We are playing one of these today – Atlanta.
Atlanta v Arsenal
We are opening our Champions League campaign today against Atlanta. They are the current Europa League winners who beat the likes of Liverpool and Leverkusen last year to win the trophy. They will make sure we don’t have an easy game.
In team news, we have a good news regarding Bukayo. He has travelled with the team to Italy and Calafiori is back with the team as well. Declan Rice will be present after his suspesion in Premier League. We needed him at this stage. Zinchenko is out injured but Timber has done a good job and we most likely won’t miss him. Mikel Merino is out for some time. The only concern for us is the Odegaard’s injury. There’s no proper back up and unless someone (Ethan) steps up, we are going to struggle both in EPL and CL. Hopefully, it’s only a slight drop in performance which we can manage.
I expect us to play the same backline of White, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber with Raya in goal. Jorginho will make way for Declan Rice and Partey and Trossard will fill the other 2 places. Saka, Havertz, and Martinelli will pick themselves up. Trossard did a good job, but he is a winger, not a mid. I so wish, ESR was still with us today. Anyways, go grab that opportunity Nwaneri.
Expectations?
Lets have some high expectation from a club fighting for the domestic league and the CL, having spent more than half a billion dollar, shall we? Champions League games can be unexpected but we should be winning today and with couple of goals. With about 15 top teams fighting for that 8 position to avoid getting into an extra play-off game, every goal will matter. Goal difference can be the decider between a 8th place finish or the 9th.
Lets go out there, score couple of goals and get back home to face Man City. Martinelli to score today, that’s my bet.
Right, that’s all for today. See you during the game.
makes you wonder why the shooter didn’t look up, as Raya dove way too early
Nostrildamus
considering our piss-poor recent history when it comes to stopping penalties I’ll take that regardless of the particulars
I would still rather we had Rice playing deeper and Partey further up the pitch, like he did for a good chunk of time at Athleti
OK I’ll admit I’ve been critical of the Raya signing as not being a big enough improvement to justify the outlay but how many times has he pulled off world class saves this season?
Arteta might have got a non obvious one right for a change.
Right subs, both Partey and Jesus has been ineffective so far.
Marc
Yep. I was critical of Raya over Ramsdale but I will eat that humble pie now.
Ambarish
I think we both need to take a big bite.
Arteta knows that Gasperini is the superior manager so he would rather we left with a 0-0 draw than open things up thereby exposing us to the counter…not sure these subs will seriously impact things, especially if Jorginho is playing deeper, which would be stupid on MA’s part, but maybe Tross can find a little opening with Marts and Saka out wide
I have been impressed with Raya since our shootout last CL season, but the sample size is a bit too small just yet…he’s definitely trending in the right direction though
we’re playing as if there’s landmines in the opposing box
A 0-0 is not going to help us… we need all 3 points today.
we’re certainly not playing like a club with a MV triple that of our opponents (1.17B to 426M)…keeping in mind that Gasperini has spent less on transfers in his entire career there than MA did two summers ago
Martinelli is testing me. That’s the second one he could have done better.
likely offside, but he can’t be missing those chances, especially considering that we seem bereft of ideas
I can never understand why Rice takes free kicks…surely we can afford to get a specialist within our midst
Really poor. A typical Arteta clusterfuck.
two things learned from tonight’s affair:
(1) if we’re going to play like this every match I would much rather listen to it on the fucking radio
(2) if we’re such a different side with only one player missing, why the fuck didn’t we get a proper cover piece in the summer
KP—our gutless fuck of a manager will never win shit unless another side or two cocks things up, much like we have in recent years
Bang average game, bang average performances and we were lucky to come back with a point.
Right, onto the next now.
the very fact we were on the back foot even after making a mess of subs speaks volumes of MA’s inability to craft a viable plan B…how the fuck is he the highest paid manager in world football???
Havertz gave away the most fouls of any player, winning just two of his 11 duels and creating zero chances in the final third…just saying
Great commentary guys I sadly watched the toothless display this ring at 7am my time.
Was it expected after the season’s start? Absolutely.
Rice is a CD and 6, but he’s not Rodri level, and never will be. He’s not a midfield player or forward in the same way he’s not a keeper.
He looks average at times, and no surprise RM are not courting him. I’ve made my White’s being below what we need now, before so, no need to rehash the reasons why.
We know what the TW answers were, so I think you guys covered the game in real time, so I’ve got nothing to add…..
Except it does not look good for us on Sunday on this season’s displays
This was a fitting prelude to the City game this Sunday which, like last season at the Shit-i-had stadium (see what I did there?) will be dour and attritional as Arteta parks his bus and tries from minute 1 to escape with a scoreless draw. I think we’re gonna lose unfortunately.
All this mediocre form is eerily reminiscent of last season.
I have a 5 word solution….Bunga Bunga in Abu Dhabi.
It worked like a charm last time.
Brilliant idea KP when no break until after Xmas? I thought there was no break this season.
KP
More internationals next month, and extra CL games this season. So, we’ll see more injuries this season from mental fatigue, as much as from soft tissue injuries. When you’re fatigued playing a heavy contact sport, at high tempo, you will make more mistakes especially uncharacteristic ones.
Like you I’m pessimistic about our chances at Shitty, and feel we’ll be lucky to scape with a point El B goes there to play for.
We have a brilliant defense that, like Raya’s new found aerial acrobatic abilities is keeping El B in a job. Let’s hope he keeps his new found form.
Unfortunately, bar the injured Ode, we have no midfield – only 4 DMs six if you add Timber and Calafiori.
Up top we have Saka. Marts is regressing this season. Trossard is the Swiss army knife, across the top, player who is can’t really develop his own stamp on the team always having to fit in.
Sterling looks lost, slow and basically why The Chavs wanted him gone.
Havertz is Havertz trying to please his master by covering 11km a game while others are around 6 to 9km. He’s being made to be a jack of all trades, rather than trying to nail the 9 shirt playing as an authentic and mobile 9, and leaving the defending to the midfield and excellent defense.
As for Jesus being captain? Then being subbed I thought was priceless. Why not Rice as captain leading from the back? Did Jesus need to feel the El B love? He’s been on the treatment table and it showed, as he was worse than he normally was. Did El B buckle to pressure as TRVL suggests?
Jorginho is not just past his sell by date, but his football expired 2 got 3 seasons ago as a starter, and last season as a game changing sub. He’s a defensive space filler when closing out a game at best today.
White, Jorginho, Marts, Partey are off the pace this season and Rice is just about keeping up, but is not as calm and assured as he was last season.
Going to need a night and day performance to remotely get anything from Sunday’s game.
Are you busy on the footy road the weekend?
Just off to Aberystwyth with one of the terrible twins who loves driving. L plates going on as I speak. A mere 140 mile round trip playing a team that county ought to beat despite having list their last three. Late autumn sunshine here so should be a nice evening . Hip flask staying at home for this one just in case I have to drive on the way back.
KP – you need to drum up the noise – the atmosphere last night was absolutely fantastic. Pity the game did not match it. You might see a better game tonight.
Havertz was awful, likewise Jesus and Martinelli needs to be coached by somebody else. Raya played well but everybody could see the penalty taker looked unsure – wrong body language. It woukd have been an ideal game for ESR – ooops no we sold him.
Tony & KP—great assessments by both of you, as per usual
it’s one thing to go full turtle against Pep’s City, even though I’m not a fan considering the time and investment, but to not have a plan in place to deal with the obvious, Saka being double-teamed, is simply inexcusable…Gasperini is clearly head and shoulders above our little make-a-wish manager, but he’s not on the pitch, so the fact that we were unwilling/unable to impose our will on this defensively vulnerable side, regardless of us missing 1 fucking player, strongly suggests that our MIT lacks the requisite spine and the ability to both identify and lure the talent required…as such, we appear to be in regression mode, where mindless sideways football, set pieces and clean sheets are all the rage…hardly a recipe for success in this day and age…at this rate, by mid-season I’ll have bitten off all my nails to the quick and forcibly removed every last strand of hair from my head
TRVL
I fear for you my friend. Hair transplants don’t come cheap I imagine.
Regression is right a good word for our failing stars. Make-a-wish manager made me laugh I like rope a dope for El B, too.
Sunday bloody Sunday is coming to mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4vblG6BVQ
KP
Cool enjoy the trip and probably better football than we witnessed last night……
Anyone buying the KDB injury? Pep’s pre game tactical nonsense.
Will Ode have been to Lourdes?
I don’t know if anyone’s even interested but as a bit of trivia it’ll be amusing to see what the guys who can’t get to matches make a guess at. I can’t make the PSG game so someone who’s a friend of a friend and an acquaintance of mine who is both a PSG and Arsenal supporter was interested in my ticket. I had no idea of the individual value of it so went onto ticket exchange to see what I’d get back if I sold it through the club (the club take a handling fee for selling it through the website). My seat is North Bank Upper Tier within the front 10 rows and off centre of the goal just inside the 18 yard box – its a good seat not a cheap one but there are more expensive seats in the ground that aren’t Club Level etc.
So how much do you think I’d get back from ticket exchange?
(A special clue for Kroenke – Starmer said he’d have it for free!)