Why This Arsenal Team Shouldn’t Be Scared of the Champions League

Why This Arsenal Team Shouldn’t Be Scared of the Champions Leagueq

Last season, Arsenal performed better than anyone could have imagined. Not only did the club secure a return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s departure half a decade ago, but they also managed to transform into genuine title contenders. The Gunners led the Premier League table for most of the campaign however, as we all painfully remember, they fell at the final hurdle.

While fans all over the country have slandered Mikel Arteta’s side and their perceived ‘bottling’ of the English topflight, there can be no denying that 2022/23 will go down in history as the year that Arsenal finally announced their return to the elite. And let’s face it, there is no shame in losing out to the treble winners. The Manchester City vs Arsenal title decider at the Etihad Stadium towards the end of the campaign was the final nail in the coffin of Arsenal’s title challenge, but what a ride it was.

Now, Gooners the world over has a prosperous future to look forward to. And while a return to the Champions League should excite both fans and pundits alike, some of the Emirates Stadium faithful may be somewhat fearful. And that should come as no surprise considering how the club’s last campaigns in European football’s most elite competition have ended.

Embarrassment after Embarrassment

Arsenal are no strangers to shining brightly on the grandest stage in club football. Back in 2006, Thierry Henry inspired the club to their first-ever Champions League final, defeating both Real Madrid and Juventus en route to the Paris showpiece. Three years later, they managed to reach the final four, where they would run into Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his powers at Manchester United.

But between 2011 and 2017, the club embarked upon seven consecutive second-round exits, some admittedly worse than others. Along the way, there were some particularly difficult thrashings handed out, none more so than their most recent foray into the competition back in 2017. That year they were thumped 5-1 by Bayern Munich both home and away, resulting in a 10-2 aggregate defeat.

In and amongst those thrashings, there have been embarrassments of a different kind. In 2015 for example, they suffered an embarrassing exit at the hands of Monaco, who ran the Gunners ragged at the Emirates and secured a 3-1 victory, eventually winning the tie-on away goals after Arsenal battled back in the principality. But this was a Monaco side that didn’t yet hold the likes of Kylian Mbappé and a prime Radamel Falcao but instead boasted an aging Dimitar Berbatov up front.

With those six seasons particularly difficult to forget, it’s understandable why some fans would be fearful of a return to the competition. However, they shouldn’t.

Mikel Arteta’s Fearless Young Gunners

Arsenal had the youngest average age of any team in the Premier League last season. And the fact that they managed to go toe to toe with Manchester City for the vast majority of it should prove that they are indeed fearless. Most of the squad is aged 25 or under, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Martin Ødegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Magalhães, and Ben White – seven of the club’s starting eleven – all falling into that bracket.

In Saka, The Gunners have a 21-year-old prodigy that already has bags of big-match experience. He has helped England to a first major international tournament final since 1966. Add to that the fact that he has started every league game for the club for the past two seasons and that he won back-to-back Player of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022, and it’s clear that he is primed and ready to lead his boyhood club to greatness. And he has a great supporting actor in the form of Gabriel Jesus, who has picked up bags of trophies throughout his career with Manchester City.

Prospective New Additions

If that wasn’t enough to be optimistic about, the tabloid rumour mill on prospective new arrivals at the Emirates has been going into overdrive. And many of them have plenty of experience on the biggest stage. Admittedly, Jorginho’s arrival from Chelsea didn’t go to plan, but expectations are high for his former teammate.

That man is of course Kai Havertz. Chelsea have told the German international that he is free to leave Stamford Bridge should a club meet their asking price of £65m. Arsenal will only be so happy to pay that and add a Champions League winner to their ranks. And he isn’t just any Champions League winner, he’s the man that scored the winner in the Porto showpiece back in 2021, handing The Blues their second European Cup in nine years.

As well as the former Bayer Leverkusen star, the transfer saga of the summer appears to be the battle for the signature of Declan Rice. Arsenal have long been the frontrunners in the race for the West Ham United captain however, Manchester City have recently entered the fight as well. Should Arteta be able to get the deal over the line, which will further bolster confidence both throughout the squad and throughout the fan base.

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