(Advertorial Feature)
When it comes to Arsenal news it's become somewhat of a tradition almost to see their press-based commentators pour scorn on their European ambitions. But every year, without fail, Arsene Wenger manages to prove his critics wrong, propelling the Gunners into the latter stages of the Champions League, often creating quite a stir as they progress.
The north London club have achieved qualification to the continent's elite club tournament in 14 out of the last 15 seasons, but have never managed to lift the famous trophy despite reaching the final in 2006, in which they were beaten by Barcelona. That still stands as Arsenal's best performance in the competition, with Wenger leading his side to one semi-final, two quarter-finals and three appearances in the last 16 since that night in Paris.
Historical convention dictates that the Gunners' cynics bring out their poison pens around about this time before they've even kicked off their European campaign. However, in this case their pessimism has a layer of justification to it.
With Arsenal currently going through a transitional phase in the wake of the departures of Robin van Persie and Alex Song, the idea that they could go all the way in the Champions League is a little far-fetched. Given the amount of key players Wenger has allowed to leave the Emirates Stadium in recent years, they are a world away from reaching the pinnacle of European football right now.
Of course Lukas Podolski, Oliver Giroud and Santi Cazorla have come in during the summer and they are all exceptional players in their own right, with plenty of Champions League experience in their locker. Cazorla, in particular, looks a cut above and has struck a quick understanding with fellow Spaniard Mikel Arteta, becoming the new playmaker in chief.
But two goalless draws tells its own story about where Arsenal are at right now as the squad continues the painstaking process of gelling together. In attack, Podolski and Giroud are still finding their feet, whilst Abou Diaby is settling into playing regular games after another stop-start season. Saying that, they do appear to have improved defensively, with a clean sheet at Stoke not an easy thing to achieve by any stretch of the imagination.
But what needs to be considered is that Europe is a vastly different landscape to that of the Premier League and, whilst escaping the group stage should be effortless and routine for them, they will face much stiffer tests that will ultimately prove to be their downfall. It's a given that the Gunners will fall by the sword of bigger and better teams.
On the face of it there may only be a small number of cosmetic alterations to the Arsenal make-up, but the loss of van Persie and Song has kicked off a vital period of change that needs to be nurtured by Wenger, not rushed. Without their two lynchpins running the show and a raft of new faces introduced, the plains of Europe won't be so easy to traverse.
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