Arsenal face a formidable test tomorrow night (Tuesday) when they take on the might of Barcelona in the Champion’s League Last 16 first leg, at the Emirates.
Coming off the back of a promising if ultimately disappointing draw against Hull City in the FA Cup, Wenger and his team will need every ounce of skill, fortitude and guile at their disposal to thwart the current European champions, who beat the Gunners in the 2006 final and knocked them out in 2010 and 2011.
Barcelona are in imperious form. Currently eight points clear at the top of La Liga, they easily won their Champions League group, eight points ahead of second-placed Roma.
And just dealing with the skill, speed and penetrative ability of Barca’s peerless front three strike force of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar is a daunting prospect.
Between them the three amigos have hit an astonishing 91 goals this season heading into Tuesday’s game. Suarez, who Wenger tried to sign from Liverpool in 2013, has been particularly lethal: he’s already on 41 goals in all competitions – and we’re only in February!
In the Champions League, Neymar has scored seven goals in his last five knockout games, while Messi has hit six in four against Arsenal in the European competition.
There are positive signs for Arsenal, however. In previous encounters, the Catalans have failed to register a victory over the Gunners in north London, drawing twice and losing once. Furthermore, Messi has yet to score at the Emirates with Barcelona and he has never put one past Cech in eight meetings between the two.
If Wenger can engineer a favourable result at the Emirates, it could provide the momentum Arsenal need to carry them through the business end of this season. Speaking to the media, as reported by the Independent, he was optimistic: “It’s our best chance no matter how big the chance is. We have to take it and have a go at them. I believe in these big games, in the first tie at home, we can’t be stupid.
“We have to find a good balance between defending and attacking,” he added.
As shown in recent games Arsenal are likely to be fielding a pretty formidable attacking combination of their own with Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez and Giroud all potentially in the starting line up.
And if they can can produce the kind of performance that saw them beat German giants Bayern Munich 2-0 in the group stages back in October, there is no reason why they can’t get a result.
One thing seems likely: there will be goals! In their seven previous Champions League encounters the two teams have produced 27 goals between them, an average of nearly four per game. Also, Wenger’s men have scored in their last 13 Champions League games, their best record since a run of scoring in 21 games in a row between October 2003 to November 2005.
So sit back, buckle up and prepare yourselves for a what promises to be one of the European nights football fans live for.
Predicted Starting Line up:
Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Coquelin, Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2- 1 Barcelona