It's Make or Break Time for Arsenal

Make no mistake about it.

The trophy Wenger most covets is the Champions League winner prize. His stats in Europe make for dismal reading for someone thought to be one of the foremost coaches in Europe: two European finals with Arsenal, two defeats, during the Champions League in the quarter-final stage last year. All this, while seeing his contemporaries in the English game enjoy sweet European success: Sir Alex Ferguson twice (1999 and 2008), and Rafael Benitez during Liverpool's incredible fightback against AC Milan in 2005.

Wenger craves European success, and he is hungry to put his record straight.

Will Arsenal make it all the way this year?

With the quarter-finals against Villarreal poised delicately at 1-1 after the first leg, Arsenal is a slight favorite to go through. This is due to home ground advantage and the absence of Marcos Senna, Villarreal's enforcer, himself an Arsenal target a few years ago. Senna comprehensively outplayed Arsenal in the first half of the first leg last week, and scored a tremendous goal in the process, so his absence is quite a blow to Villarreal, while it comes as a relief to Arsenal fans.

Not that Arsenal don't have any injury problems of its own. Defence is fast becoming an area of concern, with central defenders falling like flies; Gallas is ruled out for the season while Djourou is also injured. Almunia is uncertain for the second leg, while his replacement, Fabianski, has seen all of 180 minutes of competitive football so far this year. As shown by the Chelsea-Liverpool game earlier today, goals can be scored at will if the defence is weak. 

However, Arsenal potentially welcomes back Eduardo and Van Persie on Wednesday night, and despite Arshavin continuing to be Cup-tied, should prove to have too much attacking flair for Villarreal.

With Captain Fab pulling the strings, if the boys don't get too nervous and are able to rise to the occasion, I predict a 2-1 scoreline for Arsenal, and passage towards the semi-finals, where the team will face either Porto or Manchester United.

At this point, I also feel confident that Arsenal will be able to make it past either Porto or Manchester United. We surely have enough quality to get by Porto, while Manchester United is a shadow of the side that conquered all teams earlier in the season. Perhaps an example of speaking too early, which was Arsenal's issue last year!

Alas, I fear that a potential Champions League final in Rome is set to end in tears for Arsenal, as it will face a near-insurmountable barrier called Barcelona. Just like in 2006, Barcelona is once again firing on all cylinders and playing like the great team it justifiably is. Blowing away Bayern Munich 4-0 in the first leg of the quarter-final was a great statement of intent. Wouldn't it be the irony of ironies if Thierry Henry were to score the winning goal against Arsenal! 

Still, teams prove their greatness by winning the Champions League, and stranger things have happened in the past. Victory is made even sweeter when it is achieved with one's back to the wall. Who thought Porto would go all the way in 2004? Who gave Liverpool a chance at half-time in 2005? For that matter, who thought Manchester United was done by the 89th minute of the 1999 final? 

Perhaps it is time that Arsenal's team of youngsters proved themselves on club football's greatest stage.