February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger, and his troops have slipped up with three defeats on the trot. Over the weekend, Arsenal lost, 2-1, to Blackburn Rovers, Celtic’s opponents in the UEFA Cup tomorrow. Dwight Yorke scored the winner for Rovers. For Wenger and Arsenal, the loss signifies that no team is invincible. There has been all sorts of talk about how Arsenal looked unbeatable. Now, today, suddenly they are expected to get a result against the German tacticians in the Westfalen Stadion.
Borussia are in second place in the Bundesliga, three points behind Bayern Munich. Borussia beat Werder Bremen last weekend in a convincing 4-1 game. The top-of-the-table clash saw Dortmund, unbeaten in league football, peaking in preparation for today’s outing with Arsenal. The German champions showed no mercy after they scored a goal in the second minute. Dede and Ewerthon were on the Borussia scoresheet, reminding Arsenal that they face an attacking and clinical unit in this German outfit. The Brazilian influence at Borussia will not go unnoticed by Wenger. In the second half against Bremen, Borussia were all about the beautiful game. With 20 minutes to go, Borussia looked unstoppable.
It seemed that way for Arsenal early on in the season when the Gunners were outshooting every team. Since then, however, the goals have dried up and the Wenger defense is now being found out. Signs that the Highbury back line needs some surgery couldn’t have come at a better time for Wenger and Co. The Gunners will travel to Germany with a clean sheet very much on top of their list of things to do on the road.
It was Everton that put an end to Arsenal’s 10-month undefeated run with a 2-1 result that Wenger described as shocking. Welcome back to the real world of soccer, Mr. Wenger. Struggling to get over that loss, the EPL champions were then beaten 2-1 by Auxere in the Champions League. Highbury Road had suffered back-to-back defeats and the jury came out coming into the Blackburn Rovers defeat last Saturday. Arsenal’s critics and fans are already sharpening knives. Today’s game is cutthroat also for Dortmund, whose fans will want a victory. However, there is always that element of playing it safe by both teams while listening to how the other group fixture is playing out. In this case that’s Auxere, who are traveling to a hostile PSV Eindhoven. PSV must win to stay in the CL. This group is not over yet, but it does lean toward Borussia and Arsenal going through.
In Group B today, there is another top-of-the-table clash with Valencia playing Liverpool at Anfield. The Super Reds are back on top of the EPL and Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson has tipped Liverpool as title contenders for the Premier League. Michael Owen is on fire at the moment and will be expected to score for Liverpool. Both European giants should go through, with Basle having to win against Spartak Moscow to keep the group alive. Moscow has not won a point yet in Group B but may prove too determined for Basle.
In Group C, Real Madrid is away to Roma at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Some results have not gone Real’s way and the Spanish wizards will be tested against the unpredictable Roma. Real’s experience should get them by into the next round of the CL as the ability to score goals is always a threat in their style. Genk away to AEK Athens must win to survive in the CL. Real are favorites to go on as usual, but who will join them is still up for grabs with Roma getting the vote over Athens.
D is a real Group of Death in the C.L., with Rosenborg facing Inter Milan in the daunting San Siro stadium. Lyon is at home to Ajax, but the French home advantage looks weaker than Inter’s. Lyon is on 7 points with Inter and Ajax on 5. Rosenborg, with only three points, nonetheless should not be written off. While Inter seem to have made some ground on the European scene, Lyon at home to Ajax are in the best position to move on with only themselves to blame if they fail to qualify. Groups of death are usually decided on what teams can maintain the most composure under pressure. Especially when it come down to the wire.
CONTROVERSIAL ITALIANS
Juventus have quietly made their way back into European competition while approving Gaddafi’s son, Al Saadi, as a board member. The Italians are flexing some muscle on and off the field. Al Saadi Gaddafi is an adamant Juve supporter. It’s expected to see the Italian giants buying a few players. The controversial Serie A clubs are back and back with a bang. There was concern that Italian clubs were falling behind in the C.L. But not only are they making a comeback, they are making some serious noise in world politics.
It’s typical Italian stuff. The political viewpoint is that Gaddafi has connected himself to Juventus in order to erase Libya’s alleged rolls in terrorism. Politics do get in the way with Italian clubs, but it’s very serious stuff indeed. Libya, back in the day, was an Italian colony and relations are still very much alive and well today. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is president of AC Milan and recently he traveled to Libya to meet with Gaddafi. No doubt they spoke about Milan already qualifying for the C.L. in style with Inzaghi. Some things just do not go away and Serie A clubs should never be written on and off the field. Juve’s Group E has proven tough enough for Newcastle, who may have started to late after dropping too many points in the early stages.
ROUNDUP
Like Milan, Manchester United and Barcelona confirmed their C.L. survival with a no-nonsense attitude in their respective groups by reaching 12 points apiece in four games. The unbeaten runs by all three clubs may well be ignored with the collapse of Bayern Munich in Milan’s Group G. Up to Monday, Munich had picked up only one point