Don Pacifico ah, both the QF and SF fixture orders are determined by a draw and we came out of the bowl first for the QF.

      Yeah count me in the camp that would rather play Real than Atletico. This is Champions League and I want to see the entertaining fixtures. An Atletico-Arsenal tie with our depleted attack would be a slog and I'm not sure it would be any easier to progress in. Hope we can get by PSV so we can see what we can do.

      daredevil you think Real will run riot against us but Atletico will run even more riot against us, or are you talking about entertainment rather than the best chance of advancing?

          I'd rather lose to Real than lose to Atleti.

          I'd rather grind out a set piece 1-0 against Atleti than lose an exciting 4-3 to Real.
          Edit: Actually I'm not sure about that, but that's the contrast.

          QuincyAbeyie

          Atletico will be a pain in the arse to play against. With Real, there's some hope we could fight fire with fire and have some joy against them, even though they obviously have way more firepower than us. With Atletico, it's going to some ugly Frankenstein game where I could easily see it go 180 minutes without more than 1-2 goals.

            This may be a hot take but I actually think we stand a better chance of winning against Real than Atletico, provided we actually advance against PSV. Atletico is basically a supercharged version of the type of team we have struggled so much against in the last two years: mid-to-low block teams that restrict the middle of the pitch and give us no room to breathe on the attack.

            Real's attack is terrifying but they don't always control games and definitely give up chances on their end. They want to play a high tempo transitional game where their freelancing attackers can flourish and I feel like we can negate a lot of that with control and our excellent defensive structure and discipline.

              samthegooner only way we can beat Real is if Saka is back. No chance with our current front line.

              Biggest concern is Arteta’s poor European KO record - it’s atrocious.

                USArsenal I thought I was going crazy and had misread what our next game was. These guys took their eye off the ball already, looking for glamour tie. Smh

                    flobaba normal to be excited by prospect of Real Madrid. Would love to be there if that game were to happen

                      PSV is going to be very tough. Definitely think it will take everything we have to get past them. Need to just hold them in that first away tie.

                      I'm pretty nervous about PSV. Talking about Real vs Atletico is just a deflection tactic to avoid stress.

                      • JazzG

                      • Post #519

                      daredevil God I remember that game, early Emirates days. Battered them and somehow managed to draw the game, sounds like a familiar story 😉

                      We were so fun to watch, so fluid and easy on the eye!

                          JazzG didn't we beat them 4-0 at one point with Gilberto scoring in the first 10 seconds or something?

                              I don't mind the draw. The QF was always going to be the limit anyway (however "beatable" Bayern look, we're just never beating them in the CL and can't be bothered with the Kane narrative again). There's no shame going out to Real, but at least we have actually knocked them out in living memory, as massive underdogs then too.
                              Anyway still a tough round to get through before then.

                                invisibleman18 let’s not overlook our next opponent. But Real would be massive. The beauty of Europe is these ties. Hopefully we get past PSV and are healthy enough for this.