Thoughts on the Champions League draw
Add comment March 20th, 2009
Saturday morning update: no time for a proper blog today, but the good news is that we’ve only got Villareal in the draw. The bad news is that Theo Walcott will be out for up to five weeks. Possibly more later. Follow the game with me on twitter.
Tomorrow morning, around 11am UK-time, a route to the Champions League Final will unfold. It may be arduous and ultimately prove insurmountable, but at least we’ll know the direction it’d take us. All roads lead back to Rome, but it’s safe to say we won’t be travelling as the crow flies.
For personal reasons, I’m fairly keen on a tie against Barcelona somewhere along the line – my brother is living out there at the moment and I’d be killing two birds with one stone by visiting him and catching the game. (The problem with the “two birds/one stone” analogy is that it implies a practical measure taken to complete two chores. In this case, a more fitting turn of phrase would be something like “eating two delicious chocolate cakes with one golden spoon”. Or something.)
Of the other foreign sides available to draw, Villareal and Porto are undoubtedly the softest. I wasn’t impressed with Porto in the group stage (despite them qualifying ahead of us), and I don’t think Villareal are a better side than Roma. There is, however, a little allure about The Yellow Submarines, as it would mean a long-awaited Emirates debut for a certain Robert Pires. Oh, and it’s also close enough to swing by Barcelona on the way.
Of course, we’re no longer protected from the possibility of drawing another English side. If we had to draw one, and I’d really rather not – not only because I’m less confident of beating them, but also because a European night never feels quite the same against Premier League opposition – I think I’d choose Liverpool. Let Man U and Chelsea somehow conspire to knock each other out – we owe those Scousers big time for last year.
There is, of course, one side I haven’t mentioned: Bayern Munich. Funny feeling about that one. Of course, “funny feelings” have a less than 100% track-record, but if it turns out this particular peculiar premonission is not misplaced, I will be claiming possession of some sort of magic power.
In other news, Theo Walcott has been named in the England U-21 squad. Fair enough, I suppose – he’s barely back from a long-term injury. But I do worry it might be a move to reintegrate Walcott into the U-21s ahead of including him in their Summer tournament, at a time when a rest would certainly be more beneficial to us, his club.
Finally, early team news for Newcastle suggests that Manuel Almunia will be fit.
What with the draw, and the fallout from the Hull game, Arsene’s press conference today could be very interesting…
