Arsenal fans must have sulked to themselves and mustered this words: "not again" when the round of 16 draws for the UEFA Champions league was announced.
What can Arsenal do to avoid facing either Bayern Munich or Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions league?
For the past 6 seasons, Arsenal get knocked out of the Champions league in the Round of 16, and in the "odd seasons" they faced Monaco and A.c Milan in the round of 16, they still managed to fumble the opportunity to get past a relatively "easier" team.
Arsenal finished first in the group stage this time around, and only then, Bayern Munich managed to finish 2nd on the rare occasion in their group, and boom, Arsenal must overcome them in a 2 legged affair to make it to the Quarter finals of the Champions league for the first time in some years.
Cheer up Arsenal fans, here are legit reasons why Arsenal can overcome this round of 16 hoodoo this time around:
(1) A team pushed to the wall: The North london side have been pushed to the wall this Seaosn, the Premier League is almost out of reach, as they are 10 points behind Leaders Chelsea at this stage, they are out of the EFL Cup, they may be in the FA cup, but surely, Arsenal fans and the players are tired, they want something new and big, and that is the UEFA Champions league, and since they keep on suffering the same fate in the Champions league, Wenger and co must have realised that to be the best, you must BEAT THE BEST, there is no running away this time around, Wenger and Arsenal must do well in the Champions league this Season or else this Seaosn would be seen as a total disaster, this would serve as a positive inspiration for the team to punch above their weight, and i am afraid, the first casualty of Arsenal players "punching above their weight would be Bayern Munich.
(2) Alexis-Ozil combination: big players combination helps teams to do well, for example in Barcelona, they have the famous MSN, this season, for Arsenal in the Champions league, between Alexis and Ozil, they have scored 6 goals and provided 6 assists in 6 Champions league matches. When a team has players that they can always rely on in that stead, they would inspire other players and function as a unit, with Ozil looking lethal in the UCL having scored 4 goals, and with Alexis the current top scorer in the Premier Legaue with 17 goals, who says Arsenal cannot overcome Bayern Munich?
(3) Mustafi-Koscienly defensive Stability: Bayern Munich's attacking threat needs no New introduction, they have a certain red hot Robert LewandowskI who has scored 5 goals in the 2016/2017 UCL campaign so far, and he is supported in the attack by other good players like Ribery, Robben, Douglas Costa and Thomos Muller, it takes good defenders to stop these attackers on their good day, step in MUSTAFI, the German centre back has brought defensive Stability to Arsenal since he joined Arsenal, Mustafi beat Bacary Sagna's record unbeaten start of 17 games at the club in Arsenal's 3–3 draw against Bournemouth with his 18th game without defeat, he has settled in London properly, and his partnership with Koscienly for Arsenal is the best they have had in recent years, and as long as they don't defend like they did against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and they defend as a unit alongside the full backs, Arsenal would concede few goals against The German opponents and would stand a good chance of overcoming Bayern Munich.
Arsenal have come close to making it to the Quarter finals of the UCL once again and this season looks like another good opportunity for them to make it to the Quarter Finals, take nothing away from a Caro Ancelotti Inspired Bayern Munich, but the 2016/2017 UCL season looks like Arsenal's best chance of making it to the Quarter Finals of the UCL, looking at the grit they exihibted in the group stage and how they were able to finish first in a group that has PSG, plus the totality of their performance in the Champions Legaue so far, plus other factors mentioned above, Arsenal can overcome Bayern Munich in a 2 legged affair in the Round of 16 UEFA Champions league Fixture.
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