Let’s be honest, that’s not the draw we all wanted. But, now the draw’s been made, I can’t help but relish this mouth-watering tie in February. I’ll certainly be doing my best to get some tickets for the second leg. We were always going to have to play a decent side in the Champions League, so we can’t have any complaints about the draw. Anyway, I’m sure Milan fear us much more than the other way around.
Just think - by mid-February we’ll have everything going for us; high-flying in the league, hopefully going for the title (could all hinge on Sunday’s match), RVP breaking record after record, Vermaelen becoming a defensive rock at the back and a real beast in the opposition box, some possible January signings (Lukas Podolski, anyone?) and the return of the great Jack Wilshere. All that said, we must remember this is where our season peaked last year before we tragically collapsed into another year of gross under-achievement. At least we’ll have no Carling Cup Final to totally deplete the side of confidence.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Milan aren’t the European giants they once were. Sure, they have a lot of talent, but they haven’t really got another Kaka or Shevchenko or Maldini from the good old days. Even Alessandro Nesta’s pretty average right now. If you don’t believe me, just look at how Italy are doing at the moment. They have some bright sparks like Pato, Prince-Boateng and Ibrahimovic but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before and we should be able to handle them.
Their two performances against Barcelona were admirable - to get a draw at the Nou Camp is a remarkable achievement these days. Though after all that effort, they still showed that they can do what the Arsenal of a few months ago used to do and throw away silly results at the end – they led Viktoria Plzen 2-0 with 89 minutes on the clock and ended up drawing 2-2. I don’t think even the old Arsenal would be capable of that.
As with all Arsenal’s matches this season, success does rest on the fitness of Robin Van Persie. Although I’ve said it too many times before, the importance of keeping him fit is paramount. We haven’t played too well without him and we can only be successful when we have someone like him at the front. I would not fancy AC Milan without him, we would have a huge gap in attack, and Chamakh isn’t exactly going to fill his boots very well.
The bottom line is this isn’t the tie we were hoping for, but nevertheless one that we are more than capable of winning. The key to winning this tie will depend on what happens between now and then. Here’s to hoping that we’ll still be in a shot of the treble come February.
Come On You Reds!
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