Arsenal news as Mikel Arteta set for strong Champions League opportunity with favourites crashing out or struggling
Arsenal have been able to watch on with glee as their European rivals were put through the ringer in Champions League knockout stage play-off ties over the past week. In the first matches of their kind there was plenty of drama.
Not only did Manchester City - one of the pre-tournament favourites - crash out, but Bayern Munich were given a scare and Juventus got sent packing. Due to a strong league phase for Mikel Arteta and his side, Arsenal had the joy of two free midweeks after the packed winter schedule.
Owing to their premature FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester United last month, Arsenal were also able to spend time at a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. It was a chance to regroup following the disappointment of Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Newcastle United.
The time away seems to have worked, too, as Arsenal extended their Premier League unbeaten run with a 2-0 win over Leicester City at the weekend. They can now start to prepare for the Champions League last-16 with matches due to be played next month.
Arsenal know that they will face one of PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord in the next round. It is a choice between the two Eredivisie sides after dramatic and surprise aggregate wins over Italian opposition for them both.
Feyenoord made use of their slender 1-0 advantage heading to San Siro and managed to draw the second match, on Tuesday. That pushed them past Sergio Conceicao's men whilst PSV overturned a 2-1 deficit with a stunning comeback to knock Thiago Motta's goal-shy Juventus out.
It presents a kind draw for Arsenal on paper and their luck may well extend beyond that. With City getting crushed by Real Madrid in Spain on Wednesday, a clear competitor is no longer in the equation for Arsenal.
Madrid themselves are in a curious position. Their league form is not stellar and the domestic title race remains open with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid all within a single point of each other.
Carlo Ancelotti has struggled to make things click with too many attacking options to fit into one XI. His answer is increasingly to put them all on the field now that defensive cover has slowly started to return. This is not yet a vintage Madrid side, though, and their aura is perhaps more dangerous than the team's current ability at the very top level.
The same goes for Bayern Munich. Vincent Kompany's debut season in Germany continues to be a curious case as they, too, failed to finish in the top eight of the Champions League and therefore had to go into the play-offs. Like Madrid, that represents a weakness which many would not have expected from the two giants.
Bayern only just edged past Celtic over two legs, though, and needed a scrappy late winner from Alphonso Davies to avoid extra time in Bavaria on Tuesday. This isn't Bayern at their best, either.
Kompany may well be top of Bundesliga and eight clear on the way to regaining the league title but his team are not quite the force that they have been previously. This should give Arsenal confidence that were they to come across each other further down the line, there is no need for imposter syndrome because Bayern are beatable at the moment.
This was also the case when the two met last season with Thomas Tuchel at the helm. Bayern, like Madrid, have experience and know-how flowing through their squad when it comes to the biggest stage but that is carrying them through as opposed to genuine footballing superiority in performance.
Even Liverpool have shown signs of dropping off in recent weeks. Their Premier League draws to Everton and Aston Villa have opened up the title race to Arsenal again with defeats in the FA Cup and Champions League - albeit using a much-weakened team - creating a sense of uncertainty at Anfield.
Outside of that and there are a group of potentially awkward opponents who are also out of form. Borussia Dortmund have often been a banana skin draw in recent years but have had a shocking year so far. They are 11th in Germany and onto their second manager of the season after Nico Kovac replaced Nuri Sahin.
Now without Donyell Malen and lacking depth across the squad, it is a far cry from the Dortmund teams with Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland. The current iteration is a long way from the group who reached the final in 2024.
Atalanta, meanwhile, were one of the surprise packages in the first few months of the season. They have remained just about in touch of the Serie A title race but were eliminated from the Champions League by Club Brugge in the play-offs.
After lifting the Europa League they have fallen short of fulfilling their potential with Gian Piero Gasperini at the top level and will be happily out of Arsenal's way. Sporting CP have fallen off a cliff since Ruben Amorim's departure and are also out but have been tricky to overcome in Europe themselves.
Closer to home and Arsenal are not exactly cruising past opponents but with the Champions League set to return it just shows that they should not be scared of coming up against the biggest names at any stage. Everyone appears to have their issues and it might make for a more engaging tournament. Given the striker challenge at hand for Arteta, it might be the way in he needs.
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