Think of the modern Arsenal team and it’s likely that you think of three players.
At the back there’s William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas probes and prods from midfield and Robin van Persie is the team’s cutting edge up front. They are the spine, the heartbeat, the essence and the icons of Arsène Wenger’s side, they are the manager’s representatives on the pitch. Tonight the Gunners enter Champions League battle without any of them, and it’s a battle they have to win.
At 2-1 down from the first leg, tonight’s last-16 clash with Porto at the Emirates Stadium is a tough test for Wenger and his men. The Portuguese may be poor travellers, perennial losers at this stage of the competition, but Arsenal are required to hit their straps quickly tonight. That will be tough without their leading lights.
The Gunners have never overturned a first-leg deficit in the Champions League. While the European histories of the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool is littered with stirring comebacks and passionate home performances in the face of adversity, Arsenal’s is not, but the task that awaits the Gunners tonight should motivate them, not deflate them.
The errors that blighted the first-leg loss at Porto’s Estádio do Dragão should be forgotten – don’t worry Gunners fans, Lukasz Fabianski won’t play tonight – and instead attention should be switched to giving Porto’s Dragons a fiery reception.
Get through this, and Arsenal have as good a chance as they’ve ever had to win the Champions League. Their schizophrenic Premier League title challenge is back on once again, but this is the one that Wenger really wants. He knows that his team are ready for it too.
A 2-1 first-leg deficit isn’t too big a hurdle to clear anyway, and there are many who claimed that the Gunners’ defeat in Portugal three weeks ago was actually a good result.
Tonight will see Porto sit back and attempt to hold onto their slender advantage, and there are few teams better at punishing defensively-minded teams better than Arsenal, well, an Arsenal with Fabregas in the side at any rate.
Without him, the likes of Andrey Arshavin, Samir Nasri and Tomáš Rosický will have to come to the fore. All are exceptional, exciting attacking talents, but they often feed off Fabregas’ good work, and without their heartbeat and leader tonight, Wenger will require one or more of them to stand up and be counted. It’s what Abou Diaby has been doing all season, and the Frenchman will be important tonight, a leader that some of his less celebrated teammates have to follow.
If selected, it’s a character test that Nicklas Bendtner has to pass. The Dane has never been a firm favourite on the Emirates Stadium terraces, with that relationship reaching a new low after a succession of missed chances in the weekend win over Burnley.
The old argument about “being in the right place to miss the chances” can only wash so far, and supporters want to see the 6ft 4in Dane stand up for himself and put in the performances that he clearly believes he’s capable of. Whether or not he’s given the chance to tonight will depend on whether his manager feels he can afford to risk him on a night when chances have to be taken.
Arsenal might be missing their backbone tonight, but several of their performances this season have proved that they are certainly not spineless.
It might be a tough challenge, but it’s certainly not a daunting one.
It’s time for some new icons to step forward.
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