Arsenal: Lack of Center Backs Might Derail Champions League Hopes

The knockout round of the Champions League begins this week and, of the four English clubs that came into the tournament, only two remain—Arsenal and Chelsea.

Both clubs face the two remaining Italian clubs in the tournament. But, while Chelsea faces a Napoli club that is in the middle of the Serie A table, Arsenal has a little bit larger of a mountain to climb—and it's name is AC Milan.

You may remember that another English club, Tottenham, that got the better of an overconfident AC Milan club in last year's knockout round. But, unlike Tottenham, Arsenal has been unpredictable as of late.

The Gunners may have scored seven goals against a soon-to-be relegated Blackburn squad, but before that they lost three straight to Fulham, Swansea City and Manchester United.

And if there's one weakness that opponents keep exploiting—whether the opponent is of the Premier League or the Champions League—it's Arsenal's pitiful situation at center back.

In the club's most recent match against Sunderland, if not for Thierry Henry's last-minute goal, center back Per Mertesacker would have been the reason Arsenal only gained a point against a mid-table side.

Against Manchester United, it was Mertesacker's clearance straight to Ryan Giggs that allowed the Red Devils to score an easy goal at the end of the first half.

When visiting Swansea City, Laurent Koscielny showed little awareness by playing very far back at the end of the match and allowing Danny Graham to stay onside for the game-winner.

In group play of the Champions League, it was much of the same. 

Squillaci showed he's not worth a spot on the first-team with a jittery performance in the center of the defense in a 3-1 loss to Olympiakos Piraeus, and it was Mertesacker who was—again—was at fault during a match with Borussia Dortmund. He let in their only goal, but Arsenal won.

It will take some brilliant tactics from manager Arsene Wenger and some extra effort in the team's attacking to overcome an AC Milan team that has a trio of attackers—Robinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Clarence Seedorf—who can wreak havoc on the best center backs in the world.

As Piers Morgan said on Twitter before the loss to Manchester United, "playing with no full backs v Nani & Valencia makes me feel queasy."

Arsenal fans have to relent and admit that help at the center back position is not on the way—Wenger didn't see fit to buy any players, and the defenders on the roster aren't going to magically get better before Wednesday night. 

Unless the club can push pressure to the sidelines, the best team in Italy is going to have an easy time against Arsenal.