Champions League challenge becomes greater for Gunners

 

By David Lee Wheatley

 

Arsenal's defeat at the hands of Rafa Benitez's Napoli plunged the Gunners into serious danger of receiving a perilous task in the last-16 of the competition when the draw takes place on Monday, but it could've been so much worse.

 

Arsene Wenger's men travelled to Naples full of hope that they'd capture top spot in the group and therefore avoid the biggest names in European football, but they failed spectacularly and could now face a tricky tie with one of the tournament favourites.

 

However, they will be thanking their lucky stars that the Italian side didn't manage to score just once more, as that would have seen the expulsion of Arsenal from this year's Champions League altogether.

 

Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon put paid to a poor Arsenal last night, but they couldn't quite force a third goal that would've seen them advance in place of the Gunners. Now Wenger's chances of lifting the trophy look vastly more difficult when compared with that of eventual group winners Borussia Dortmund.

 

Spanish giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid all lie in wait, while European champions Bayern and French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain are both in the frame to meet the north Londoners. It's a frankly frightening scenario whichever team Arsenal find themselves paired with and that daunting thought does nothing for their ambitions of claiming Europe's premier trophy.

 

Many will argue that a club with designs on winning the Champions League must first negotiate matches against the very best our continent has to offer anyway, so what does it matter if the sternest test arrives at the last-16 stage?

 

However, there is the notoriously hard slog over Christmas domestically to battle beyond before the next European round begins and then it's about getting up to speed at that supreme continental level once again after more than two months away. Surely it would be preferable to meet a lesser side on resumption of the Champions League to ease your players back into the swing of the competition?

 

Elsewhere, fellow group victors Manchester United, Chelsea and Dortmund join the aforementioned illustrious names in the hat with the prospect of meeting runners-up such as Milan, Zenit, Schalke, Manchester City, Olympiakos, Galatasaray or Bayer Leverkusen (dependent on teams from the same country being kept apart).

 

Nobody will fancy the prospect of butting heads with City after their heroics in Munich on Tuesday and dark horses Galatasaray pose a threat with superstars Sneijder and Drogba within their ranks. The draw will make for very interesting viewing next week when the Champions League finally reaches the nitty-gritty of the knockout stages.

 

Twitter: @davewh1980    

 

 

Champions League draw outcome

By David Lee Wheatley

Arsenal and Celtic really lucked-out at the Champions League group stage draw on Thursday evening when handed the toughest-looking opponents of the round.

Under-fire Gunners boss Arsene Wenger could have done with a much easier task than facing Group F foes Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli. Dortmund, of course, present the most stern test having reached the final of last season's competition and strengthening their side substantially during the summer. Napoli have also been very busy in the transfer market under new head coach Rafa Benitez and appear at their strongest for years. Benitez is a former Champions League winner as manager of Liverpool and beat his north London rivals to the signature of Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain recently. Meanwhile, Marseille are probably the only side Arsenal would expect to defeat home and away, but they're no mugs and will take some beating on their own patch.

Scottish champions Celtic scraped by Kazakh side Shakhtar Karagandy to qualify for the tournament proper and were given the 'Group of Death' as a reward! Firm favourites Barcelona, Italian giants Milan and Dutch legends Ajax make up a pool that Celtic will have been having nightmares about ever since the balls were drawn. The positive side for the Glasgow club must be that they'll have an opportunity to experience three wonderful European nights at Celtic Park during the first stage of the Champions League, but they face an extremely difficult uphill battle to get into the top two. However, Neil Lennon's men will take heart from last year when they beat off Benfica and Spartak Moscow to qualify along with Barcelona for the last-16 before falling to Juventus.

Group A looks reasonably straightforward for Manchester United, having been drawn alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad. Leverkusen aren't the force they once were towards the beginning of the new Millennium, while Sociedad are good but complete novices at this level of competition. Donetsk will be a tough away trip for anybody, but shouldn't trouble United at Old Trafford. David Moyes' side possess plenty of experience within the squad on the highest European stage and they shouldn't fall at the first hurdle.

Clear favourites to progress from Group B are glittering European clubs Real Madrid and Juventus, with Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen looking decidedly ordinary in comparison. It would be a major surprise if either of those top teams lose out on qualification.

Laurent Blanc leads Paris Saint-Germain into a reasonable standard group consisting of Benfica, Olympiakos and outsiders Anderlecht. PSG, while viewing the Champions League as the next huge leap in their project to reach the pinnacle of world football, will expect to get beyond the first round and perhaps as far as the semi-finals. Benfica should be strong enough to secure second, but don't rule out Greeks Olympiakos.

Manchester City were teamed with reigning European champions Bayern Munich, fresh from winning the UEFA Super Cup yesterday against a defensively determined Chelsea side. City failed miserably at Europe's top table so far under Roberto Mancini and will hope for much greater success in the competition under new hot-seat incumbent Manuel Pellegrini. Bayern should top the group, while CSKA Moscow present a potentially tricky tie for Manchester City to negotiate. Minnows Viktoria Plzen make up the four, but are expected to falter in last place.

Group E was reasonably kind to Europa League holders Chelsea, who got Schalke, Basel and Steaua Bucharest in their pool. Schalke undoubtedly represent their strongest opposition and especially now following their capture of Kevin-Prince Boateng from Milan and the potential loan signing of Spurs striker Manu Adebayor. Huntelaar is also a massive threat up-front and the Germans could create a few shocks along the way this season. Basel over-achieved in Europe during the last two campaigns, but always lose a couple of their best players each summer and it'll be interesting to see how this year's version cope. Steaua won their first domestic championship for seven years to get into the tournament and don't carry enough threat to trouble Chelsea or Schalke.

FC Porto and Atletico Madrid appear strong contenders in Group G and shouldn't hit too much trouble when faced with Austria Vienna and Zenit. The Russians of St. Petersburg will be tougher to dismiss than the Austrians, but still won't pose enough questions for the group favourites to answer. Atletico look especially nifty this season, despite the loss of superstar Radamel Falcao to Monaco. The experience of David Villa is adequately off-setting the Falcao sale and Diego Simeone has an attacking team fully capable of conquering any rival.

Of the British sides involved, Arsenal, Manchester City and Celtic look most vulnerable to elimination, while Chelsea and Manchester United should go through comfortably. In the longer run, Chelsea look most likely to challenge for the title outright along with outstanding holders Bayern, plus fellow giants Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Dortmund. Also, on the periphery stand Italian sides Milan and Juventus, both of whom could well be counted as 'Dark Horses' for glory come May 2014 in Lisbon.

Twitter: @davewh1980

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