The Champions League is Arsenal’s last hope of ending their eight-year long drought and winning a trophy this season. PHOTO: REUTERS
The London club’s defeat by second-tier Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on Saturday ended hopes of domestic silverware and a poor result at home to the Bavarian giants tonight would all but guarantee an eighth successive trophy-less season.
Wilshere, who played the final 20 minutes against Blackburn after being rested, says Arsenal need only look at Chelsea’s feat last season for inspiration.
Chelsea were also struggling in the Premier League but some impressive backs-to-the-wall displays in Europe saw them past Barcelona en route to beating Bayern in the Champions League final in the German club’s backyard.
“Chelsea are an inspiration for everyone,” said Wilshere. “They weren’t having a good season and okay, they got a bit lucky in some games, but they showed great character and we need to do that. We need to come together as a team.”
Wilshere, who has recently returned from a year-long absence with an ankle injury, said Bayern’s visit offered the ideal chance to show some fighting qualities.
“We have to regroup now,” he said. “We need everyone behind us. We know what Bayern are capable of; they have a great team. We’ve beaten big European teams here before so we need to do it again.
“Just now it would be a bit pretentious to say that (we can win the Champions League) but you never know. We have to give it a good shot tonight and see where we stand afterwards.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he will not have any trouble motivating his players after their FA Cup shock exit.
“It is not difficult at all. It is our job,” said the Frenchman, who is reportedly set to be offered a new two-year deal at Arsenal and a £70million war chest to invest in the summer.
“If we feel sorry for ourselves, we would be completely wrong. We have a massive game tonight and we have to show that we have some response in the team.”
Last year’s finalists Bayern have failed to go beyond the last 16 only once in the past four seasons, and prevailed 3-2 on aggregate when they last met Arsenal in the round of 16 in the 2004-05 campaign.
Bayern are yet to concede a goal in 2013, but despite the stark contrast between their imperious recent record and Arsenal’s struggles, Belgian centre-back Daniel Van Buyten anticipates a stern test.
“Arsenal are one of the best teams in Europe,” he told the official Bayern website. “They have tremendous potential in attack. But we also have quality and want to show it on the pitch. It will be a good game.”
Wenger can take heart from Arsenal’s excellent home record against German clubs.
In 12 previous encounters with representatives from the Bundesliga, Arsenal have won nine, drawn one, and lost only two, while Bayern have won just twice in 15 previous away games against teams from England.
Malaga on a roll heading into Porto clash
Meanwhile, Malaga may have hit a vein of form at just the right time going into tonight’s last-16 tie with FC Porto.
The weekend’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao means the Andalusian side travel to Portugal on the back of two successive wins for the first time in two months.
“To go into that game winning is different than doing so after a defeat,” said manager Manuel Pellegrini.
“We have maintained our position in fourth and now we want to get to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, although we have a very difficult game in Portugal. It is always important to go into those games after a win.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2013.
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