BY GEORGE PEACE Tomorrow evening we welcome S.C Braga to Ashburton Grove for the kick-off of our Champions League campaign. While Wenger has never managed to lift the famous trophy, the one that he covets more than any other, he has managed to keep us a dominant force in the competition for the last decade. This is our 13th consecutive year competing among Europe’s elite, and despite Wenger’s comments about taking nothing for granted, most fans expect Arsenal to make it their 11th consecutive progression from the group stages. Considering we’ve moved stadiums in this time, and that we’ve reached at least the quarter finals for the last three years, our European record should not be scoffed at. (Come back in ten years time, Harry!)
So will it be lucky number thirteen for Arsenal as we embark on another Champions League journey? Well, before we can think about which giants we’ll have to slay before we can lift the cup, we’ll have to deal with the first step of beating Braga at home. I was surprised to hear that tickets for the match had made it to general sale and, if I wasn’t a penniless hippy, I would be on my way to the box office by dawn tomorrow. But that’s another matter.
What exactly will we be facing then, when Sporting Clube de Braga take to the field on Wednesday night? The team from Portugal managed to finish 2nd in Liga Sagres last season and, while the Portuguese league is not renowned for its high quality, second place still meant a finish above teams like F.C Porto and Sporting C.P – both of which have had many more high-profile players than Braga. This would lead you to think that Braga, or the ‘Arsenalistas’ as they’re fondly known, don’t shirk a challenge. Incidentally, it was indeed us Gunners who inspired the term ‘Arsenalistas’, the Braga coach had visited Highbury in the 1920s and when he returned home, changed the team’s kit to red and white.
The Arsenalistas might feel quite at home when they visit the Grove then. Not that we’ll want to give them any help, they managed to dispatch Celtic 4-3 on aggregate and, even more surprisingly, claimed their place in the competition at the expense of Spanish club Sevilla. And it looks like Braga are only just starting, the 2nd place finish and European qualification has inspired them to strengthen the team with no fewer than 17 new players this summer. Indeed we’ll pay the price if we underestimate this side.
Having said that, with a full-strength squad and by playing the sort of football that we know we can, we can comfortably pick up the three points. Other than the home match against Partizan Belgrade, this should be our easiest match of the group stages for us. The only problems we might face, other than Shakhtar away, are injuries and complacency. Luckily, I don’t think either of these will be an issue when we take to the pitch against Braga tomorrow. We’ll be missing Walcott, Van Persie, Diaby and Vermaelen too, but in comparison to our usual injury list, we’re still standing pretty strong.
My team for tomorrow: Almunia, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh (Bench: Fabianski, Eboue, Djourou, Gibbs, Denilson, Wilshire, Vela). There’s a chance either Denilson or Wilshire will start in place of Nasri but, if he’s fit, I think we can afford to go with the slightly more attacking option.
Either way, well find out tomorrow at 19.45 – let’s just hope for a sterling performance to kick off our 2010 Champions League season in style. See you at Wembley.
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