This hasn't been a great couple of weeks in general for English sides in the Champions League. Whilst both Arsenal and Liverpool qualified for the quarter finals, the other 4 English sides suffered heavy aggregate defeats.
Both Chelsea and City additionally lost their home legs - the former very badly; ending up with a thoroughly embarrassing 8-2 deficit to PSG - to exit the tournament.
So what did I take out of Arsenal's progress? Let's look at some key areas:
- It's easier to play/be expressive in the Champions League than it is in domestic football. Two victories over Spurs aside, Arsenal's most impressive and fluid performances this season have been against European sides. You know... teams that actually want to come out and play
- Ebere Eze is finding his role in the side, and his team-mates are adjusting to him. Whereas earlier this season he had looked lost - and like he was often being bypassed - Arteta has started to adjust Arsenal's attacking play in order to involve his more. Less recycling to the wings - although there's still plenty of that - and more down the middle of the pitch. We are seeing a lot more of the ball appearing around the 'D', and Eze has been doing a lot of excellent work in that area recently. Tuesday's goal was sensational! It will be interesting to see what Arteta does when Martin Odegaard is fit again
- Bukayo Saka is not back to his best - or, frankly, anything close to it - but he looked better with Ben White supporting him than he does when Jurrien Timber plays at right back. Timber, however, offers a little bit more as a 'package' than Benny Blanco, and I can fully understand that Arteta prefers the Dutchman there. However, this is certainly food for thought
- Declan Rice had been looking a little leaden-legged over the past few weeks. Along with his partner Zubimendi. Not surprising bearing in mind the amount of work that they have been asked to do, with Arteta reluctant - for reasons I do not fully understand (but I'm not at training, after all) - to rotate either Christian Norgaard or MLS in occasionally. However in this game both - and Dec in particular - looked revitalised; culminating in a goal that sums Rice up to a 't'. The anticipation to see the opportunity to intercept. The speed of body and mind to get there in front of the opponent. The drive towards the penalty area. And then the exquisite finish into the bottom corner of the net; the little 'peck on the cheek' to the goalpost making it look all the better
- Arsenal's press looked in top order in this game. Whilst Gabriel Martinelli is always full of energy, I sense that Leandro Trossard is the 'smarter' presser; he and Starboy really put the squeeze on the Leverkusen defenders. Big Vik is also becoming smarter in that regard, and really settling in as the season progresses
- David Raya - well, what can you say? Called on just the once, late in the game, to do anything significant. And producing another to add to the pantheon of spectacular saves this season. Alongside his generally excellent distribution and command of his penalty area, he is surely right up there now as one of the very best keepers at this time. Watching poor Aaron Ramsdale shipping 7 goals at the Nou Camp makes us realise how correct was Arteta's decision to make that change
Anyway, we move on to a clash with Sporting Lisbon in the next round. Something that Viktor Gyokeres will be looking forward to. Although he may not get the hero's welcome that he might have hoped for, having gone 'on strike' to get his move last summer. Sporting will be tough - as one would expect of any team in the last 8 of the Champions League to be - but there are certainly tougher opponents out there.
Liverpool went through by thrashing poor travellers Galatasaray, but now have to face the mighty PSG. As for the other 4 English sides... well, I think that the collective phrase that I can use here is 'were thrashed' by their respective opponents. With Newcastle and Tottenham that was little surprise, but Chelsea and Manchester City both under-achieved. The only pity regarding City going out is that they will have their feet up - watching Arsenal I'd hope - whilst the Gunners take on Sporting. Arsenal go to The Etihad 4 days after the second leg; worth keeping half an eye on.
As for Chelsea; well, many of their supporters are already starting to question the wisdom of appointing Liam Rosenior to replace Maresca. And he does appear out of his depth now. I can't see him lasting past the end of the season, the way things are going; especially if he fails to secure them a Champions League spot.
Further thoughts on those two clubs follow here. I'll start with Chelsea, and then move on to City - and there will be a Carabao Cup final preview in there too. Here we go - and I hope that I don't sound too bitter with my views...:
I've been maintaining for the past 20 years that Chelsea Football Club were financially 'doped' from the moment that Roman Abramovich took ownership. He laundered his vast ill-gotten fortune, and changed the entire landscape of Premier League football in the process by making available hitherto unrecognisable amounts of money as he turned the club from a second tier Premier League club into a behemoth.
From an Arsenal supporter's point of view, this was particularly galling as all that coincided with the club having to tighten its purse strings and change direction in order to be able to afford the new stadium. I still regard the day that Ashley Cole left to join Chelsea as a sad, watershed moment that changed the fate of the two clubs and sent them indifferent directions.
Now, if it wasn't enough that the Premier League failed to stamp down on the Abramovich excesses - allowing them to lose tens or hundreds of millions of pounds, year after year after year, as they built their stockpile of great players, we now know that they were also breaking the Law of the land by paying people 'off the books'. This has always gone on, of course; but paying somebody £200 in cash instead of being invoiced £250 would often suit a tradesman and his customer (the tax man would lose out) is one thing. However, we're talking about £47.5 million here!
Compare and contrast the penalties applied to the likes of Everton, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town - to name but a few - have all been hit with points deductions ranging from -6 to -21 over the years for their own financial irregularities. So for the Premier League to come up with a punishment of a £10 million fine is nothing short of a joke! There is simply no justification for such leniency; for all that their new owners 'self reported' - before reporting a £355 million loss themselves last season!
So for all the excesses and cheating over a sustained period, I would suggest that a relatively small fine is a totally disproportionate punishment when looking at the huge number of trophies that the club accumulated over those years. It's obviously difficult to take the trophies away, but the punishment doesn't fit even a small amount of the 'crime'.
If that's me passing judgment, I'm hitting them with an immediate 20-point deduction, and further 10-point deductions in the next two seasons. It's the least they deserve. And - meantime - their fans are laughing. "We won it all", they sing every time they come to Emirates Stadium. And we nail the response - "You bought it all". I tell you this; whilst I am no fan of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and lately their neighbours, I have nothing but utter contempt for Chelsea Football Club. And this ruling only makes it worse. So to see them humiliated by PSG this week gives me nothing but pleasure, and I hope that they struggle to get back to the top table for years to come.
Now to Manchester City, the route to whose rise to power - backed by a nation state for goodness sake! - was paved by the excesses of Chelsea. Another club who put together the most fantastic team over the years; but, the question remains, how did they do that? We still await the verdict on the 115 charges they are facing - two thirds of those for alleged financial impropriety; and the other third for 'failing to co-operate with the investigators' (the latter surely a clear sign of guilt). Charges that go back 10 years or more now, with the investigation having concluded over a year ago now. Yet still we wait... whilst they continue to spend tens or hundreds of millions of pounds on transfers. An utter travesty, in my opinion.
Of course, the big worry is that the Chelsea ruling is paving the way for further leniency with Manchester City. Which would only make matters worse when put up against the punishments recently imposed on other Premier League clubs for single breaches of the rules. If Chelsea deserve much more than they received, even that will be dwarfed by what City should have coming to them if even 20% of those charges are proven.
Meanwhile, the Manchester City first team are in a state of flux. Sure, they sit in (a distant) second place in the table. But the current side doesn't come close to recent iterations. Of course, it's almost impossible to replace the likes of De Bruyne and Kompany, so one would expect a drop off, but I personally wonder what the mood in the camp is currently.
Dumped badly out of the Champions League by a non-vintage Real Madrid, alongside highly disappointing draws with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United - all in the last three weeks. Surely confidence must be low, with questions over Pep's state of mind and immediate future, the form and fitness of Rodri, and even over Erling Haaland who - it would appear - is starting to look almost human after all.
I personally feel that this is a good time to be facing them, and whilst I wouldn't call myself confident regarding Sunday's match I am certainly not worried per se. I believe that Arsenal match up well against them. Gabriel and Saliba have mainly had the better of Haaland recently, I believe that Rice and Zubimendi are more than a match for Rodri, and they have weaknesses in central defence (especially with Guehi missing; cup tied). The main dangers are going to come from the wings, with Semenyo and Doku a threat to any side. But Pep will have enough to worry about himself.
This could be the first trophy in what may yet end up as a glorious season. 16 'cup finals' maximum until the end of the season - and hopefully three of them will be actual Cup Finals. But - and I cannot emphasise this enough - one game at a time please.
Nonetheless, I cannot wait for Sunday. COYG!!!
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