Arsenal In The Eternal City: Part I (I Hope)!

“The past is in the past, for the record books, and for the good moments of nostalgia.”

I think it is fair to say that the reaction to my last article nicely fits into a standard “rule-of-threes”: a third absolutely love me and consider me the archetypal cult hero, a third understand where I’m coming from, and, whilst agreeing with me, think I’ve been a bit harsh the manager, and a third consider me the vicious villain of the piece, with one or two requests to ban me altogether!

Well here I am once again, and with a quote from my last piece to start with addressing those who just cannot contemplate that no one is irreplaceable once incompetence sets in.

Having said that, Arsenal have been mildly stylish since then, with two fairly comfortable victories and classy goals to boot, although the standard of the opposition has been similar to the teams we so struggled to break down over the past month, begging the question, why are we so inconsistent?!

The absences of the likes of Eduardo and Walcott can indeed be pointed to, how we have missed the combination of their pace, trickery and sharp eye for goal, as seen on display in the 3-0 thumping of Burnley in the FA Cup yesterday.

And, with the likes of Vela and Diaby getting more playing time, the hype surrounding their talents is finally starting to show, not that there was ever any doubt with the former’s superb ability.

I stated the importance of a good FA Cup run as I previewed the fourth round clash against Cardiff City. Here we are in the quarter-finals, and, despite being one round behind the remaining teams, we should be confident of progressing to our first semi-final since our triumph in 2005.

But, then again, this is Arsenal, and nothing is certain against anyone nowadays, and so we must not take the challenge of Hull City lightly, especially considering how they so infamously embarrassed us back in October.

A major reason for my hypothesis of the vitality of a long FA Cup run was, what we are building up for come Wednesday night.

At a packed Stadio Olimpico and with the staunchest of Roman supporters cheering their underachieving heroes on, we are sure to be in for a tough night, as we defend our slender 1-0 lead from the first leg. And defend for our lives we will have to!

Despite all the plaudits for our fairly impressive defensive record since the turn of the year, it is easy to forget that we have not exactly played against teams that thrill the pants off the watching public, certainly not off me anyway!

And so, although the team do deserve credit for tightening up after a previously shambolically characteristic leakage of goals, here is a team full of verve and attacking flair in Roma, a team priding themselves on being known as the “Brazil of Serie A” by pundits and supporters alike.

In fact, in an interview for arsenal.com prior to the first leg, one Italian critic likened Roma to Arsenal in everything that both teams stand for: their approach to the game, their cosmopolitan lineup and modern-thinking coach, and even both teams’ frustrating failings with inconsistency in challenging for the very top despite having copious talent!

With that in mind, our defence will have to be in better shape than it has been all season, countering the threat of the likes of Totti, their iconic talisman, as well as Vucinic, Brighi, and their somewhat enigmatic midfield linchpin, the ironically Manchester-born Perrotta.

And of course, how can I forget “The Beast”? Baptista has been talking up himself and his side’s chances of getting one over us ever since the draw came out, and, despite his relative anonymity at the Emirates during the first leg, an all too familiar sight during his stay here two seasons ago may I add, he is sure to be fired up on Wednesday night.

One must also note Roma’s fairly impressive home record in European competition, although, then again, who doesn’t have a good home record in Europe nowadays?

With defeat to Manchester United on the Red Devils’ way to claiming European glory in 2008, Roma’s only other Champions League defeat to an English team at the Olimpico in recent years was with one Fabio Capello in charge and against none-other than a Thierry Henry-inspired Arsenal. How times change eh!

So what about us? As usual, there has been talk in our camp that, despite, being way out of the title race, we have the quality to win the Champions League.

Although we should all be optimistic on the outlook for the rest of the season with the return of our “offensive weapons”, as put aptly by Wenger post-Burnley, the likes of van Persie and Adebayor are jumping the gun too soon for my liking, and any sensible Gooner’s liking, once again, for Roma are desperate to contest the European Cup on their own patch on May 27.

Not to mention the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and any of Liverpool or Real Madrid, Chelsea or Juventus and Inter Milan or quintuple-chasing Manchester United of course.

With a long way to go to even consider being contenders for club football’s most glamorous prize, we must enter the match fully appreciating the potential consequences of defeat at this stage, bearing in mind that we still have a lot of work to do to catch Villa for the right to play in this competition next season.

And, who knows, should we not concede or should we score the all-important away goal at the Olimpico (or both, please), we can start dreaming about such a possibility with eight teams remaining, although luck with injuries, the draw, and refereeing decisions, as well as which Arsenal is likely to turn up, will all be variable determinants in what exactly happens next!

And although everyone involved with AS Roma will square up against us on Wednesday night with the steadfast determination to ensure that they are still in with a shout to lift the trophy aloft their own sky and before the very eyes of their own by the end of the evening, we can all have our own agenda of this being the first of a two-legged trip to the Eternal City.

Well, it’s okay to dream, isn’t it?