tracertong
Reserve Team
Arsenal-Juventus: Round One
Whilst an English and Italian club will take the field on Tuesday night, it is two Frenchman who could make the real difference. Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira will face one another for the first time since the latter was transferred this summer and both will feel they have a point to prove against their former clubs. Thierry was bought by Wenger in 1999 after a brief spell at Juventus, whilst Patrick left Arsenal in July.
The North London club have had a difficult season since the departure of their ex-captain in the summer. They are currently sixth in the league, out of both cup competitions and may have to win the Champions League to have any chance of taking part next season. Their domestic record of ten defeats in thirty games is disappointing for a team who, two seasons ago, went 49 games unbeaten and their coach Arsene Wenger has conceded that his team are in a ‘transition’ year. However, despite this, Arsenal have shown signs of improvement recently, with nine goals in their last three league games and a return to the free-flowing and quick-paced football that won them the title in 2002/03. Their form in the Champions League has also been impressive, they are still undefeated in the competition, having conceded only two goals in the entire campaign.
Whilst Juve played a tough, physically demanding game against Roma, Arsenal’s weekend fixture against Portsmouth was cancelled, meaning they will not have played since their last Premiership match against Charlton on 18th March. The bianconeri will also be without Alex Del Piero, who sustained a thigh injury in the game on Saturday night, and Pavel Nedved who is disqualified. However, sitting at the top of Serie A, having lost only once in the domestic season, Capello’s men have shown that they are more than capable of sustaining their form in the long-run and should not be fazed by the proximity of the games. As the Puma said: “…for us the Champions League is a hugely important target and so we have to put any tiredness to the back of our minds.”
The Juve coach described the tie as “the draw of the round”, with both teams desperate to progress and Henry and Vieira eager to make their mark the match seems unlikely to disappoint.
Current European form
# Arsenal finished first in Group B and they are one of the four undefeated teams remaining in this year's competition.
# The last English representatives knocked out Real Madrid, 1-0 on aggregate, in the second round.
# The Londoners have so far won six matches and drawn twice, outscoring their opponents by 11-2.
# The Gunners have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six CL matches.
# The CL record for most consecutive clean sheets is seven and was set by AC Milan between November 2004 and April 2005.
# The 559 minutes without conceding a goal is the sixth longest streak ever. Liverpool have recently set a new English record at 573 minutes whilst the all-time CL record is 658 minutes by Ajax.
# Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight home matches in the Champions League since a 1-2 defeat against Chelsea at this stage two years ago.
# Arsenal's unbeaten run (home and away) in the competition is now nine matches.
# Juventus won Group A and eliminated Werder Bremen in the second round on away goals after losing 3-2 in Germany and winning 2-1 in Italy.
# Juventus have lost half their away matches this season, losing both in Germany to Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen.
Whilst an English and Italian club will take the field on Tuesday night, it is two Frenchman who could make the real difference. Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira will face one another for the first time since the latter was transferred this summer and both will feel they have a point to prove against their former clubs. Thierry was bought by Wenger in 1999 after a brief spell at Juventus, whilst Patrick left Arsenal in July.
The North London club have had a difficult season since the departure of their ex-captain in the summer. They are currently sixth in the league, out of both cup competitions and may have to win the Champions League to have any chance of taking part next season. Their domestic record of ten defeats in thirty games is disappointing for a team who, two seasons ago, went 49 games unbeaten and their coach Arsene Wenger has conceded that his team are in a ‘transition’ year. However, despite this, Arsenal have shown signs of improvement recently, with nine goals in their last three league games and a return to the free-flowing and quick-paced football that won them the title in 2002/03. Their form in the Champions League has also been impressive, they are still undefeated in the competition, having conceded only two goals in the entire campaign.
Whilst Juve played a tough, physically demanding game against Roma, Arsenal’s weekend fixture against Portsmouth was cancelled, meaning they will not have played since their last Premiership match against Charlton on 18th March. The bianconeri will also be without Alex Del Piero, who sustained a thigh injury in the game on Saturday night, and Pavel Nedved who is disqualified. However, sitting at the top of Serie A, having lost only once in the domestic season, Capello’s men have shown that they are more than capable of sustaining their form in the long-run and should not be fazed by the proximity of the games. As the Puma said: “…for us the Champions League is a hugely important target and so we have to put any tiredness to the back of our minds.”
The Juve coach described the tie as “the draw of the round”, with both teams desperate to progress and Henry and Vieira eager to make their mark the match seems unlikely to disappoint.
Current European form
# Arsenal finished first in Group B and they are one of the four undefeated teams remaining in this year's competition.
# The last English representatives knocked out Real Madrid, 1-0 on aggregate, in the second round.
# The Londoners have so far won six matches and drawn twice, outscoring their opponents by 11-2.
# The Gunners have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six CL matches.
# The CL record for most consecutive clean sheets is seven and was set by AC Milan between November 2004 and April 2005.
# The 559 minutes without conceding a goal is the sixth longest streak ever. Liverpool have recently set a new English record at 573 minutes whilst the all-time CL record is 658 minutes by Ajax.
# Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight home matches in the Champions League since a 1-2 defeat against Chelsea at this stage two years ago.
# Arsenal's unbeaten run (home and away) in the competition is now nine matches.
# Juventus won Group A and eliminated Werder Bremen in the second round on away goals after losing 3-2 in Germany and winning 2-1 in Italy.
# Juventus have lost half their away matches this season, losing both in Germany to Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen.
