Don't Tell The Old Lady
Arsenal's first Champions League Quarter Final appearance since the treble blew up in our faces two seasons ago is upon us, with Juventus arriving at THOF tomorrow night. Indeed, as a member of the G-14 "biggest clubs in Europe", it is somewhat surprising that this is only the third time that the club have made it this far. The two previous occasions have ended in close run defeats with the home league being our downfall, conceding an away goal against Valencia and then losing to Wayne Bridges late winner against the Evil Empire. This is something that will have to be put right against the Italian Champions tomorrow night with a win vital but equally so is a clean sheet.
Despite beating Real Madrid in the last round, Arsenal again go into the tie as underdogs which is probably correct given Juve's form this season and the lack of experience in The Gunners line - up. The Old Lady have been consistently dominant in domestic league football over the past two seasons and have almost as big a lead as Chelsea in Serie A. However, their performances against Werder Bremen in the last round give Arsenal plenty to work with and that Del Piero and Nedved will be missing from their line - up tomorrow is a plus point. The flipside of that is Del Piero's replacement is Zlatan Ibrahimovich, a more than adequate replacement...would that there was this kind of strength in depth for any position at Highbury.
Team news emanating from the Marble Halls has Campbell on the bench, accompanied by Van Persie and Reyes. The expected Line - Up is: Lehmann; Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini; Pires, Fabregas, Gilberto, Hleb; Bergkamp, Henry. I suspect that Reyes will be on the bench due to his lay-off but Wenger may use Van Persie as he is recovered from his lay-off and replace him with Bergkamp for the last twenty minutes, depending on how things pan out.
With the amount of press coverage in the UK about this game, there is some interesting stuff coming out about the Italians, not least of which is that their new Stadium is likely to have a capacity of around 36,000 rather than the 68,000 that the Delle Alpi currently has. Having seen the increase in ground sizes here in England it is striking that Juve have decided to cut theirs in line with their average attendances. It is has always been noticeable that they do not sell out the ground very often, especially for Group Stage games, and the banks of empty seating must make it a strange atmosphere for the players. Mind you, if Arsenal do not qualify for next seasons Champions League and Henry buggers off, then that is something the players will need to get used to in the new Emirates Stadium....
Today's Tunes are two Joy Division covers from 10,000 Maniacs, a live gig in New York some years ago with thanks to New-Order.net for these.
Love Will Tear Us Apart
She's Lost Control
Despite beating Real Madrid in the last round, Arsenal again go into the tie as underdogs which is probably correct given Juve's form this season and the lack of experience in The Gunners line - up. The Old Lady have been consistently dominant in domestic league football over the past two seasons and have almost as big a lead as Chelsea in Serie A. However, their performances against Werder Bremen in the last round give Arsenal plenty to work with and that Del Piero and Nedved will be missing from their line - up tomorrow is a plus point. The flipside of that is Del Piero's replacement is Zlatan Ibrahimovich, a more than adequate replacement...would that there was this kind of strength in depth for any position at Highbury.
Team news emanating from the Marble Halls has Campbell on the bench, accompanied by Van Persie and Reyes. The expected Line - Up is: Lehmann; Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini; Pires, Fabregas, Gilberto, Hleb; Bergkamp, Henry. I suspect that Reyes will be on the bench due to his lay-off but Wenger may use Van Persie as he is recovered from his lay-off and replace him with Bergkamp for the last twenty minutes, depending on how things pan out.
With the amount of press coverage in the UK about this game, there is some interesting stuff coming out about the Italians, not least of which is that their new Stadium is likely to have a capacity of around 36,000 rather than the 68,000 that the Delle Alpi currently has. Having seen the increase in ground sizes here in England it is striking that Juve have decided to cut theirs in line with their average attendances. It is has always been noticeable that they do not sell out the ground very often, especially for Group Stage games, and the banks of empty seating must make it a strange atmosphere for the players. Mind you, if Arsenal do not qualify for next seasons Champions League and Henry buggers off, then that is something the players will need to get used to in the new Emirates Stadium....
Today's Tunes are two Joy Division covers from 10,000 Maniacs, a live gig in New York some years ago with thanks to New-Order.net for these.
Love Will Tear Us Apart
She's Lost Control
posted by Yogi's Warrior at 11:03 am
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