RBSC

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Arsenal needs to rediscover scoring form against Roma

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Arsenal needs to rediscover scoring form against Roma

    Arsenal needs to rediscover scoring form against Roma in Champions League

    3 hours ago
    LONDON — Arsenal needs to shrug off domestic league woes and rediscover its scoring form if it is to knock AS Roma out of the Champions League.

    Without a trophy for three seasons, the Gunners are virtually out of contention in the Premier League and elimination from the top European competition would leave Arsene Wenger's team with just the FA Cup to go for.

    The Gunners take on Roma at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday in the first leg of the opening knockout round and Wenger is weighed down by injury problems and his team's failure to score goals in the Premier League.

    "In the first part of the season we conceded too many goals and scored high," Wenger said. "In the second half of the season, we do not concede anymore, but we do not score."

    "The challenge is to find a balance between being solid defensively and good attacking."

    With the domestic league titles effectively out of reach, Arsenal and Roma go head to head as they chase glory in European football's most prestigious competition. But current form suggests neither is good enough to go all the way to the final, which happens to be in Rome on May 27.

    After three 0-0 draws in the Premier League the Gunners are 17 points behind Manchester United in the domestic title race and down in fifth place.

    If Wenger's players fail to score again against Roma, they will have a tough job in the away leg in two weeks' time. But Wenger doesn't believe that the Italian side, which has conceded 31 goals in 25 Serie A games, will play over-defensively at the Emirates Stadium.

    "You never know but certainly in the Champions League teams have a more positive attitude than the teams who have come in the Premier League to the Emirates recently," Wenger said Monday.

    "Usually the Champions League is more enjoyable but more difficult as well. You feel like you play more on the edge. You feel if you make a mistake

    Wenger is disappointed he is without new signing Andrei Arshavin, who is unable to play Champions League matches for the Gunners because he played for Zenit St. Petersburg in an earlier stage of the competition.
    "We signed Arshavin for the championship and for the FA Cup, obviously not for the Champions League," he said. "But he played in a team that is out of the competition. The logic is not really obvious. If he can play in the championship and in the cup then why not be qualified for the Champions League?"

    He is also without Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott because of long-term injuries while, among his strikers, Emmanuel Adebayor and Eduardo da Silva are also sidelined.

    That means Wenger may well be left with Nicklas Bendtner and Robin van Persie as his strike force against Roma although he has the option of sending out a five-man midfield to match the lineup likely to be fielded by Luciano Spalletti.

    Roma scraped past Siena 1-0 on Saturday and has 16 points and five places to make up on runaway leader Inter Milan in Serie A. But Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta missed Saturday's game through suspensions, Mirko Vucinic was rested ahead of the game at Arsenal and Brazilian stars Juan and Cicinho have recovered from injuries they picked up against Siena.

    Roma captain Francesco Totti said that Saturday's victory, which followed a 3-0 loss to Atalanta, gave his team a boost ahead of the visit to the Emirates Stadium.

    "This is a very important victory for us," the striker said. "Now we are going to London ready to play a fascinating encounter."

    Spalletti applauded his players' overall performance against Siena.

    "My team showed a lot of character against Siena," he said. "The fighting spirit shown by my players is what makes the difference. My players have to be good at regenerating motivation day by day, there is no time to enjoy the present."
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Working...
X