Champions League preview: Arsenal v SC Braga
When Sol Campbell scored the opening goal of the 2006 Champions League final in Paris against Barcelona, the dream was in sight.
Late goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti snatched the trophy from Arsenal’s hands, and it would be the Spanish team once again and a one-man show from Lionel Messi to pile on the misery in the quarter-finals last season.
It is the 13th season in a row in which the Gunners have qualified for the Champions League, and have been beyond the group stages for the last 10 seasons. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger embarks on another Champions League campaign with his players one year older and one year wiser.
The Frenchman has been dealing with injuries once again, with the latest player to be on the treatment table being Abou Diaby - who sustained an ankle injury during the game against Bolton on Saturday.
The injury list is as long as Wenger’s arm, with Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, Aaron Ramsey and Thomas Vermaelen, along with Diaby, currently sidelined, prompting Wenger to say “so that is quite a good team out.”
Wenger’s greatest success is undoubtedly going through the entire league season unbeaten with the Invincibles back in 2003/04, but winning the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history would be a greater achievement to put an end to the sleepless nights he admits to having.
“Certainly, you always do a little bit [have sleepless nights]. It goes through your head if you have something important to do tomorrow. It goes through your head the day before a game and the day after a game,” said Wenger.
Arsenal have begun the season well, remaining unbeaten and winning three out of four games. The 4-1 win over Bolton at the Emirates keeps them in second place and a couple of points off leaders Chelsea.
The Bolton game also saw captain Cesc Fabrégas playing at his very best, providing three assists and numerous amounts of defence-splitting passes. If this is to be his last season in an Arsenal shirt, then lifting Europe’s elite prize would be the perfect way to sign off to the Arsenal faithful.
Confidence is certainly high, and there is no-one who has more confidence in his players than Wenger. “For us the confidence is high enough. We have to show we can focus every three or four days now, keep our flow going," he said. “To play well, you need to be happy and enthusiastic. Normally if you love football you enjoy to play with a lot of drive going forwards and we always try to cultivate that.”
Known as Minho’s Arsenalistas, SC Braga make the trip to north London after qualifying for the Champions League group stages for the first time. Wins against Celtic and more surprisingly Sevilla in the qualifying stages bring them here, and for the Portuguese side, playing Arsenal is almost like a magic moment.
Why so? Well, you have to go back to 1921 when Braga visited Arsenal’s old stadium Highbury, and after the trip, then manager Jozef Szabo changed their kit colours to red and white, resembling the famous colours of the Gunners. He was said to be so impressed by what he saw that he even named the youth team Arsenal do Braga as well.
Braga finished runners-up to Benfica in the Portuguese league last season and mounted a challenge for the title throughout the season. There will be a familiar face returning to England, with former Newcastle United player Hugo Viana now wearing a Braga shirt. The 27-year old left Tyneside five years ago, and will surely be passing on some valuable information to his teammates to try and stop Arsenal.
They will certainly have their work cut out tonight, and if Arsenal click into gear, it could be a long night.
Prediction: Arsenal 3 SC Braga 0
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