Champions League or Bust

The tedious friendlies out of the way, it was time to get down to business. First on the agenda, qualify for Europe. In a remarkably tough 3rd qualifying round I was unlucky enough to be drawn in what was probably the highest profile tie of the round, against Atletico Madrid.

Out of the Champions League this early will really not bode well for the season ahead, and will put extra pressure on me to achieve in the Premiership, so I can’t screw this up.

Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid – Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg
13th August 2008
English starters: 6 – Jagielka, Taylor, Cattermole, Walcott, Randall, Wilshere

That’s right. Six English players in the starting eleven. The decimation of my midfield meant that I had an all English line-up there, with Jack Wilshere and Mark Randall coming in to join Cattermole and Walcott. Gallas picked up a slight niggle before the game, so Jagielka and Taylor continued their burgeoning partnership in defence. Hoyte was benched for Sagna at right back, with Clichy on the left, while Adebayor and Van Persie played up front.

I made sure Sergio Aguero was tightly marked all night, and that an eye was kept on Forlan, and things started well. They didn’t really pose a threat for most of the game, and Adebayor linked up well with Van Persie to score on the hour mark. The players seemed to ease off a bit after that and you could tell some were still on their summer holidays. Atletico came back into things, putting us under a fair bit of pressure for the last 20 minutes, and forcing Almunia to make a couple of fantastic saves for which he ended up earning the man of the match award. We managed to hold on though and avoid conceding a damaging away goal.
Result: 1-0

So a narrow lead to take into the second leg in a couple of weeks time, but we should hopefully have one or two players back by then, most notably Fabregas, which is encouraging. Unfortunately, Van Persie picked up an injury in the aftermath of the match, and is out for between one and two months. Owen might be fit in time for the game in Madrid, but it’ll likely be his first game back and it’s a big one to kick off his career in an Arsenal shirt with. Mind you, the same could be said of Wilshere and Randall with regards to the last game, and they didn’t do too badly.

Before all that, there’s the league to be concerned with. I start off with a game away to Everton, and then welcome Chelsea to the Emirates. Two big games to start with, especially with key players missing. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks.

Category: FM09