If the Premier League is a marathon, Arsenal don’t have the stamina to compete with all the front runners.
The key to winning the Premiership is consistency, and that is not an attribute of the current Gunners team. Over a 38 game season, Arsenal can’t produce the level required week in, week out, to challenge.
The Champions League on the other hand has little to do with consistency. There is so much more to being crowned the Kings of European club football.
All of the clubs in the Champions League are of a certain standard and on their day, can beat anyone. There have been numerous occasions of this happening in the competition.
In 2012 Celtic beat Catalan giants Barcelona in the group stage. In 2006 an Arsenal side, who had lost Patric Viera that summer, won at the Bernabeu against a Real Madrid side containing; Zinedine Zidane, Robinho and David Beckham.
A shock 1-0 away win was enough to carry Arsenal through to the quarter finals, as the Gunners then held a star-studded Madrid side in a goalless second leg.
Unfacied teams have gone on to not only win matches, but also the whole tournament. In 2004 European minnows, Porto, lifted the Champions League. They won convincingly against another surprise finalist, Monaco, 3-0 but had to overcome Manchester United and the then impressive Deportivo La Coruna on route to the final.
Any team can have an off day, or any team can play above themselves. Arsenal have an obviously long and undesirable injury list, but with smart game management can progress far in the Champions League.
Many will say Wenger can no longer win the big games away from home, but Arsenal have the quality to beat anyone over two legs. If Wenger can get his tactics right and know when to attack, defend or settle for a point, then no one will want to draw Arsenal.
Arsenal showed over the last couple of seasons that they can grind out results against the likes of Bayern Munich away from home. They will need a bit of luck, but the Champions League might well be a more realistic ambition for Arsenal than the Premier League this season. If the Gunners advance into the knockout stages, they come after the January transfer window – after Arsenal have had a chance to improve their squad. By this stage, the Premier League title may already be out of reach.
Perhaps a repeat of the time we reached the final, remember?