Attributes needed to win CL differ from the Prem
On that performance yesterday, we’d struggle to beat a lot of sides in any competition. Our defense seemed very nervous and I felt we started the better side just before Roma scored. Once Roma scored, for around 20 minutes after that I felt we could get battered but such was the quality of Roma’s end product that I felt that the longer the game went on the more likely it was Arsenal that were going to go through. Looking at Wenger throughout the game, for the first time in a very long time I saw him not shouting at the players and rather very subdued. Perhaps even he felt the same but we definitely rode our luck. The thing about penalties was that the pressure would always be on Roma since they were the home side and had players who on average were 4 years older than our lot. Our boys stood up for themselves and we got through courtesy of a Tonetto miss. Now going back go to the title of this post!!
Playing in the CL requires a lot more luck than in the Premiership. The key to success in this competition is organisation and bags of it. If you can keep a team quiet, you frustrate them. And if you are sharp enough to take one chance here and there, you win the tie. The importance of patience cannot be underestimated. No tie can be claimed to be won after the first leg, regardless of the score line. I remember Milan scoring 4 in the first leg against Coruna, only to lose in the end 5-4 on aggregate. Of course there are exceptions, Munich’s thrashing of Sporting Lisbon an example of this.
This competition is ideal for the players of Arsenal and now that they have won a tie the hard way it will only make them stronger. If they remember the attributes needed to win the tie, as opposed to just the one match itself we will do really well.
