UEL Round of 32 2nd Leg: Arsenal (1) v Benfica (1) | Thursday February 25 | KO: 17:55 UTC | BT Sport

[Sapient Hawk]

2-2 is worse in the second leg? Obviously that would mean they have two away goals to our one.

I'm confused. Is Olympiakos' stadium standing in for the Emirates in this scenario?

 

[Tourbillion]

I'm confused. Is Olympiakos' stadium standing in for the Emirates in this scenario?

I'm more confused. Was the first leg our away or home game?? FML.

 

[Sapient Hawk]

I'm more confused. Was the first leg our away or home game?? FML.

Just when you think there's an end to this madness we're saddled with more problems.

June can't come soon enough

 

[boxerumble]

More I think about this, the more bottle comes to mind. Let’s not forget how **** we are in more than 50% of the games we play.

 

[A_M Iniesta]

we should beat them, no excuses

 

[OSBK]

We have to win, we have to win the EL. I dont see how we can sustain these wages and attract better players when we are not in the CL.

We could end this season with liverpool ans chelsea not in the CL, it would be vital we win the EL.

 

[UpTheGunnerz]

Loss hear and the transformation from big club to slightly below that is on the cards i am hearing

We wont lose though

 

[Legend14]

we should beat them, no excuses

Precisely.

 

[Red London]

Yeah no excuses with this one, its a must win game and should be a game we win.

 

[Bloodbather]

Benfica are one of the poorest teams we’ve played in recent years, in Europe, if you don’t count the minnows from the minor leagues.

Should be an easy win.

Olympiacos last season was a worse team and we lost to them despite obtaining a favorable result away from home in the first leg.

Nothing easy. We need to be on our game.

 

[EmeryCouldnt]

Obviously a make or break game. Of which, we have many coming ahead. No more margin for error left for Arteta this season.

 

[MartiSaka]

If we lose this game then serious questions have to be asked about Arteta going forward.

 

[Big Poppa]

We have to win, we have to win the EL. I dont see how we can sustain these wages and attract better players when we are not in the CL.

We could end this season with liverpool ans chelsea not in the CL, it would be vital we win the EL.

A paradigm shift in our intensity is needed. It feels like we approach each game with the aim of getting to half time without conceding. We don’t have good enough finishing to wait for the perfect chance.

 

[Iceman10]

A paradigm shift in our intensity is needed. It feels like we approach each game with the aim of getting to half time without conceding. We don’t have good enough finishing to wait for the perfect chance.

If you play it safe until half time you probably need a good bench, and good use of the bench, if you want to make a difference later on in the game. I vaguely recollect some stat bandied around here a day or so back that showed we have been dreadful in changing match outcomes from 75 minutes onwards. Not a good combo that, low intensity in he first half and a weak bench to call on later on in the match, in part because some of those players on the bench often have runs of games with zero involvement at all.

 

[Mo Britain]

We really shouldn't have a problem here. No team that can boast 25 players better than Özil should struggle against Benfica.

 

[goldengod]

If we lose this game then serious questions have to be asked about Arteta going forward.

It wont happen, but I think if we didn't get through this match he should be fired immediately. Lets look at his managerial highlights:

1. Inherited a squad in 8th halfway through the season - finished 8th
2. Early EL knockout to Olympiakos
3. 10th two-thirds of the way through this second season - first possible time we're outside of Europe entirely
4. Early EL knockout to Benfica

On the bright side though - he won that FA Cup with a very unsustainable way of playing football.

Don't get me wrong, there are things I like about Mikel - we seem more set up as a team than Emery, but at the end of day you need to get results and he's just not really achieving that.

 

[Iceman10]

It wont happen, but I think if we didn't get through this match he should be fired immediately. Lets look at his managerial highlights:

1. Inherited a squad in 8th halfway through the season - finished 8th
2. Early EL knockout to Olympiakos
3. 10th two-thirds of the way through this second season - first possible time we're outside of Europe entirely
4. Early EL knockout to Benfica

On the bright side though - he won that FA Cup with a very unsustainable way of playing football.

Don't get me wrong, there are things I like about Mikel - we seem more set up as a team than Emery, but at the end of day you need to get results and he's just not really achieving that.

I expect us to win, and win easily, but the weekend match against LCFC is important for me also to try to get something out of that match because if Top 6 becomes impossible there will be intense pressure with all eggs in one basket for later rounds of the EL.

 

[goonergaz]

If you play it safe until half time you probably need a good bench, and good use of the bench, if you want to make a difference later on in the game. I vaguely recollect some stat bandied around here a day or so back that showed we have been dreadful in changing match outcomes from 75 minutes onwards. Not a good combo that, low intensity in he first half and a weak bench to call on later on in the match, in part because some of those players on the bench often have runs of games with zero involvement at all.

This is showing the lack of depth of quality - but in reality if you're bringing the likes of Pepe/Willian/Laca off the bench you'd like to think there's a chance to score a goal...but it's simply not happening.

 

[Mo Britain]

I would like to see some fresh legs here: Martinelli, Cedric and Ceballos, for example.

I don't know enough about the Benfica squad but the fact they drew at Farense this weekend makes me suspect they rested players, which they can afford to do as the league is lost and qualifying for the CL a fairly simple matter.

When a team blows hot and cold like ours is doing, fresh legs often make the difference.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Partey is close to play this game according to Arteta final test today if he pass it he'll travel with squad