Arsenal vs AC Milan is the highlight of Tuesday night's Champions League Round of 16 action. Could there be any major upset knowing that Milan have a 4-0 first leg advantage?
Arsenal have an uphill task to overcome at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have grown high in confidence thanks to their comeback victories against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the English Premier League recently.
Would their mental power carry enough strength to take them through the quarter-final stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League season?If Arsenal defeat AC Milan on aggregate, they will be doing so against all the odds mostly because of they'll be dealing with injury worries. Wenger confirmed to reporters in the pre-match press conference:
“We have lost Benayoun, Diaby and Arteta as well. Arteta has to rest for a week. Rosicky is doubtful too. But we will put out the best side for us to qualify.”
Talisman Robin van Persie will be pushed to the extreme on Tuesday night. Some have tipped the fantastic skipper to hit a hat-trick against AC Milan. Whether this happens or not is not really the issue as the pressure will also be on Arsenal’s defence to keep a clean sheet throughout the game. Conceding could mean suicide for the Gunners and Arsene Wenger, despite being extremely optimistic, knows it.
“We can score goals. In the last two home games we scored 12. We must find a balance between attacking and defending,” the Arsenal manager told the press.
“I can see on your faces a lot of scepticism. We have to make sure we don't share that scepticism. We will have to gamble, the task is difficult, but as a player it is a good game to have in front of you.
“If Milan can score four, we can do it as well. We know we can put a good performance in.”
Arsenal need to score no less than 4 goals if they want to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-final stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League. In that case, what formation will Arsene Wenger take for the goals to rain? Responding to this difficult question, the Frenchman stated:
“Basically, I have only two midfielders fit, that is Alex Song and Tomas Rosicky, which means we have to play with four strikers. I can play six strikers if I want. I have enough strikers. I can take a risk because I have no choice.
“Even if they should score, we have to ignore it and continue going. We have to gamble a bit and go forwards, opening ourselves up a bit.”
The public can expect Arsenal to play their most attacking game ever. Will AC Milan take advantage of the Gunners' team structure and eventually force them to choose between defending or suffering an emphatic loss?
Would their mental power carry enough strength to take them through the quarter-final stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League season?If Arsenal defeat AC Milan on aggregate, they will be doing so against all the odds mostly because of they'll be dealing with injury worries. Wenger confirmed to reporters in the pre-match press conference:
“We have lost Benayoun, Diaby and Arteta as well. Arteta has to rest for a week. Rosicky is doubtful too. But we will put out the best side for us to qualify.”
Talisman Robin van Persie will be pushed to the extreme on Tuesday night. Some have tipped the fantastic skipper to hit a hat-trick against AC Milan. Whether this happens or not is not really the issue as the pressure will also be on Arsenal’s defence to keep a clean sheet throughout the game. Conceding could mean suicide for the Gunners and Arsene Wenger, despite being extremely optimistic, knows it.
“We can score goals. In the last two home games we scored 12. We must find a balance between attacking and defending,” the Arsenal manager told the press.
“I can see on your faces a lot of scepticism. We have to make sure we don't share that scepticism. We will have to gamble, the task is difficult, but as a player it is a good game to have in front of you.
“If Milan can score four, we can do it as well. We know we can put a good performance in.”
Arsenal need to score no less than 4 goals if they want to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-final stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League. In that case, what formation will Arsene Wenger take for the goals to rain? Responding to this difficult question, the Frenchman stated:
“Basically, I have only two midfielders fit, that is Alex Song and Tomas Rosicky, which means we have to play with four strikers. I can play six strikers if I want. I have enough strikers. I can take a risk because I have no choice.
“Even if they should score, we have to ignore it and continue going. We have to gamble a bit and go forwards, opening ourselves up a bit.”
The public can expect Arsenal to play their most attacking game ever. Will AC Milan take advantage of the Gunners' team structure and eventually force them to choose between defending or suffering an emphatic loss?
