Arsenal picked in group A of Champions League

Group A is for Arsenal…

and its fitting that the English side under Arsene Wenger has been picked in the first group of the Champions League. Of course, the alphabetical connection means little in itself and one could say the same about Benefica / Besiktas in group B, Celtic / City in group C, but I digress. Here’s all the reaction from the UCL draw and brief analysis of what to look forward to.

 

The Draw

Arsenal have been drawn in Group A for the Champions League alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Basel and Ludogorets.

The London club have avoided the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich but will face a considerable challenge in the form of current Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. Nevertheless, we should not enter those games feeling like massive underdogs and as opposed to LCFC’s much easier group, the opening stages of the UCL will help the team get in shape to tackle the overwhelming odds at the knockout stages.

 

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

While PSG and Arsenal will ultimately be expected to qualify from the group, Basel won’t prove an easy walkover for Arsene Wenger’s side.

Basel progressed to the knockout stages in the 2011/12 and 2014/15 campaigns and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League in 2013 where they lost to Chelsea across both legs.

They have been in the Champions League more times than any other Swiss club – a total of six times – and are the only Swiss club to have ever qualified directly for the Champions League group stages.

Although Basel will be capable of testing Arsenal, the side have lost some of their better players in recent years including Mohamed Elneny who signed for the Gunners in January of this year. The match will also force newcomer Granit Xhaka to play against his brother Taulant once again, just like they did at Euro 2016 where they represented Switzerland and Albania respectively. Xhaka started his professional career at Basel.

As for Ludogorets, the Bulgarian side should be an easy six points for the north London club.

The “Eagles” reached the group stage of the Champions League in 2015 for the first time in their history but failed to progress out of the group stage, despite clinching a historic 2-2 draw against Liverpool and beat Basel 1-0 at home.

The away fixture against Ludogorets in particular will be quite the experience. With a capacity of 8,808 seats, the Ludogorets Arena will prove to be a significant contrast to the modern, plush facilities of the Emirates, which holds 60,432 people.
More than that, the 2,700 mile round-trip to Bulgaria will undoubtedly prove irksome for the Arsenal manager who will face the tricky challenge of keeping his squad fresh at a busy period in the football calendar.

 

How to avoid a repeat of history

The Gunners have famously lost in the last 16 in each of their six campaigns, but that was usually a result of facing a better team after finishing second in the group. If they play to their potential, this could be the year to change that trend. Of course, if they have similar slip-ups in the group stage to the ones they had last year then history will likely repeat itself. But it’s hard to see Arsenal’s streak of making the knockout rounds ending.

This group should be a straight fight between PSG and Arsenal for the top spot, and there are reasons for the Gunners to be optimistic. Aside from losing their top goalscorer in Ibrahimovic, PSG are also adjusting to a new coach in Unai Emery, while key midfielder Blaise Matuidi is reportedly close to joining Juventus. In other words, PSG may not be quite as strong as the team that knocked out Chelsea last year before narrowly losing to Manchester City in the quarterfinals.
The key will be stopping striker Edinson Cavani, who struggled mightily in his first league game of the season last weekend but remains a top-class goal scorer. Arsenal better hope they have their centre-back situation sorted out before they take on the Uruguayan.

Arsenal’s home game against PSG will be a chance not only to take control of the group but also to boost morale around the Emirates by showing that they can beat Europe’s elite. While the Gunners did defeat Bayern Munich at home last season, they still seem to suffer from a minority complex after their struggles against the top clubs in big games over the past several years. While beating PSG may not be the same as beating Barcelona, it would at least strengthen Wenger’s argument that the club can still compete in Europe.

 

Group A Facts and Figures

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
• UEFA coefficient ranking: 7
• How they qualified: first in Ligue 1
• Previous group stage campaigns: 8 (last appearance: 2015/16)
• Last season: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals
• Best European Cup performance: semi-finals (1994/95)

Arsenal (ENG)
• UEFA coefficient ranking: 10
• How they qualified: second in English Premier League
• Previous group stage campaigns: 18 (last appearance: 2015/16)
• Last season: UEFA Champions League round of 16
• Best European Cup performance: runners-up (2005/06)

 Basel (SUI)  
• UEFA coefficient ranking: 19
• How they qualified: first in Swiss Super League
• Previous group stage campaigns: 6 (last appearance: 2014/15)
• Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 16
• Best European Cup performance: quarter-finals (1973/74)

Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL)
• UEFA coefficient ranking: 83
• How they qualified: first in Bulgarian A League, play-off winners
• Previous group stage campaigns: 1 (last appearance: 2014/15)
• Last season: UEFA Champions League second qualifying round
• Best European Cup performance: group stage (2014/15)

Key facts
• Arsenal edged Paris 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the 1993/94 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
• Basel beat Ludogorets 4-0 at home on matchday four in 2014/15, two weeks after losing 1-0 in Bulgaria. The clubs also met in the 2013/14 play-offs, Basel winning 6-2 on aggregate.

 

Reactions

David Miles, Arsenal Club Secretary:

“We’ve got a good Champions League pedigree. 16 of the last 19 seasons we’ve made it through the group. It’s a great testament to Arsene Wenger.”

“Recently we’ve struggled against Barcelona and Bayern Munich but we are pleased with this draw… PSG are a strong team. It will be great for our fans to go to venues they haven’t been before.”

Baser el Khelaifi, PSG President:

“Like every year, we can’t wait to kick off a new Champions League season. This competition remains our biggest challenge. It will be interesting to take on Arsenal on Matchday 1. At home, we expect a strong support. I’m sure this will make a difference over the course of the season.”

Urs Fischer, Basel Coach:

“I followed the draw with a lot of interest and I am very happy with this group. Arsenal and Paris are two superb opponents and we have never played against them, so our fans will be delighted too. The tie against Arsenal is extra special because they have two former players of ours: Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny. But we cannot underestimate Ludogorets. We want to give the best possible account of ourselves and have a say in this group.”

 

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