UEFA Champions & Europa League Semi-Final Football Thread ** spoilers ** [28th April - 7th May 2026]
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Soldato
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I don't think we celebrated as hard when we came back to beat barca in 2019. Arsenal always seem to over celebrate these sort of thing things tho and the fail at the next step, actually winning. Who knows it might finally be the season that changes but some of the posts above are a little weird, calm down boys you haven't won anything yet, no one expected to you to lose to athleti as whisper it very quietly, but they aren't very good.
Anyone. Proper football is back on the menu tonight. Should be a cracking 2nd leg.
You’ll be celebrating just as hard when you avoid relegation in a few weeks time.
(Think you are a spurs fan)
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They aren't. They've lost 9 in la liga and are well off the pace. Hell, i think their recent form is horrific, one win in the last 6 iirc.
??
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Caporegime
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You could say the same with Bayern or even PSG. Kompany got relegated with Burnley but has a +81 GD in the Bundesliga and on the cusp of a champions league final. Ligue 1 is also a farmers league.
People forget Arsenal topped the Champions League group. They are the most deserving on the law of averages.
Champions League has always been a spawny comp. Look at Chelsea 12 or Liverpool 05. You have to be in it to win it.
I also disagree that our league is poor. What is poor is player recovery because every game in the league now is almost a European cup tie in terms of quality shown by how far our lower teams go in the lower tiers of European football. The European Leagues have maybe 10-20 big games a year. We have 50-60 for the big teams.
As an English team now has never been an easier time to win the Champions League and Arsenal should be favourites imo.
I agree with most of your post but this is simply not true. Bayern and PSG are the two best sides left in the competition. English sides always struggle more at the later stages of the CL due to the competitiveness of the domestic league and the fatigue/injuries that accumulates. We also don't seem to give our teams in Europe any sort of help like other leagues do. They are certainly going into the games fresher than English teams.
There is a reason that, despite Liverpool and City being the best sides in the world by a margin I would say for a few years there, both struggled to win the CL. You're competing in one off (well, 2 I guess) matches against much fresher opposition who are still exceptional teams so the chance of a single game killing your campaign is high.
I imagine that Arsenal will be give about a 20-30% chance in the final. I don't think thats unfair.
Caporegime
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Agreed losing it would be massive bottle after topping all stats.
That's a lot of words for saying you agree with me that Athletico aren't very good
Caporegime
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If they wrap up the league this weekend they can rest players for 20 days before the final if needed.
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Why would it be a bottle if they lose it? Nothing is guaranteed.
I agree. Bottling it would be to crack under pressure and make errors, or play nervous football and not compete at the level you can. Losing in a CL final to Bayern or PSG in top form is not automatically a bottle just because we bossed the league phase.
Losing the prem given where we were would be more worthy of claiming a bottle job.
I'm sure losing either though, we will have prime time haters frothing all over their keyboards and phones.
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Soldato
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What's hard to grasp? Teams celebrate all different things/scenarios. Arsenal celebrate reaching a final, spurs will celebrate staying in the PL, the latter you could say is not worthy of celebrating at all, but any team would.
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The league is won already imo. The final, who knows.
And regarding haters, I only see people hating the style of play, and it's being said everywhere, not just on here and not just fans from specific clubs, so there must be some truth to it.
Interestingly, there wasn't much hate when Pool and City were playing ridiculous football.
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If it's PSG in the final, which I suppose is a bit more likely, it'll be attack vs defence and PSG could overwhelm Arsenal over 90 mins (or longer). They'd have a chance though, but the pressure could get to them. However, if they've wrapped up the PL title then it would probably help ease some of that pressure.
While certain Arsenal fans are a bit... <insert word of choice here>... the small positive for everyone else is that they've done things the 'right' way. They've appointed an untested manager and backed him through thick and thin and it's ultimately worked. This is a model other clubs would likely want to follow. I know they've spent a fortune, but without that it would have been near on impossible for Arteta up against City - who can seemingly splash the cash with impunity - the media never mention it.
It could all still go pear shaped yet though mind you
While certain Arsenal fans are a bit... <insert word of choice here>... the small positive for everyone else is that they've done things the 'right' way. They've appointed an untested manager and backed him through thick and thin and it's ultimately worked. This is a model other clubs would likely want to follow. I know they've spent a fortune, but without that it would have been near on impossible for Arteta up against City - who can seemingly splash the cash with impunity - the media never mention it.
It could all still go pear shaped yet though mind you
This is nothng new tho, Klopp was saying this stuff over half a decade ago inlcuding games being rearranged for tv resulting in less recovery time and got told to stop whinging, just get on with it, use the bigger squads that cl teams have as they spend more money than everyone else etc. What's changed recently?
I think Arsenal have a better chance vs PSG than Bayern. I think Bayern are more capable of playing a tactical game than PSG. PSG will just try to overwhelm Arsenal which might not work. Bayern will likely just smother them. Arsenal have very little attacking flair and few game changers in their squad so they will do what they did vs AM, try to be defensively sound and hope to steal a goal. I think their style could cause PSG issues, not so much Bayern.
Will be interesting to see how tonights game plays out as both teams went hammer and tongs last week but that was before there was something truly on the line. Will it be more cagey this week?
Caporegime
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Statistically Arsenal are the strongest side in the competition. It is there's to lose.
Stats mean bugger all in a final
They mean bugger all generally when it comes to the best teams in the world. Arsenal have had a very simply path to the final vs their opposition. Hell, Liverpool finished 3rd in the group stages and Tottenham 4th.
The fact they basically scored a single goal vs AM over two legs doesn't exactly scream dominant either.
They have a chance in the final like any other team, I just don't think anything I have seen from Arsenal in the past 3 months makes me think they are anything but heavy underdogs. They controlled last nights game against AM but AM offered so little. I kept waiting for them to actually show up and give it a go and they never did. Griezmann was breaking on Arsenal at one point in the second half when they needed a goal and he just slowed down, turned around and played a leisurely ball back to a defender. Couldn't believe it. They won't get that sort of grace with PSG or Bayern.
Soldato
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Arsenal have already beaten Bayern Munich this season in the Champions League - we shouldn't write them off.