Arsenal’s best UEFA Champions League victories | OneFootball

With the international break now in the rearview mirror, all attention turns back to club matters. For Arsenal, supporters are braced for an unenviable mountain of tasks lying ahead.

Not only are the Gunners a whopping 12 points behind Premier League table toppers Liverpool, but they also have the almighty mission of somehow getting past Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Last season, the popular At Odds podcast discussed just how difficult it would be for the Gunners to remain competitive on all four fronts following their return to the Champions League. Ultimately, the north London outfit came up empty-handed. They lost the Premier League title race on the final day of the season while also suffering a quarterfinal exit on the continent at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Now, they run the risk of suffering the same fate.

Arsenal’s unenviable tasks

For the Gunners faithful, a first Premier League title in 21 years may now be out of reach. The gap to Liverpool appears insurmountable, even if the Reds have just lost back-to-back games, resulting in them exiting the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain and losing the League Cup final to 3/1 underdogs Newcastle United. 12 points is a mountain to climb, and Arsenal may well need to turn their attention toward the continental stage.

Unfortunately for them, they face the record and reigning champions in the quarter-finals, a team that online sportsbook providers currently make a genuine threat to win yet another European crown. The latest odds from Bovada’s Sportsbook price Real Madrid at +350, narrowly behind joint favorites Barcelona and PSG (+300). Arsenal, meanwhile, are down at +700, putting into perspective just how huge their quarterfinal task is in knocking off the almighty Los Blancos.

Another huge problem for the Gunners is that they hardly have any pedigree to speak of when it comes to defeating big teams in the Champions League. Last season, they were eliminated as soon as they played one of the continent’s true heavyweights, namely Bayern Munich. The same was the case under iconic manager Arsene Wenger, with the English side suffering a second-round elimination in seven straight seasons between 2011 and 2017.

But Arsenal have had some huge Champions League nights throughout their history. Here are the games they need to look at for inspiration if they are to defeat Real Madrid.

Thierry Henry downs the Galacticos in the Bernabeu

The one positive that Gooners have to cling to ahead of their mouthwatering upcoming clash is that they are undefeated against Real Madrid in the Champions League. With that being said, they have only met each other once before, but they are undefeated nonetheless.

Back in 2006, Arsenal met Los Blancos in the Champions League round of 16. This was a Real Madrid side at the peak of its Galacticos era, with Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul, Roberto Carlos, and David Beckham all featuring front and center. The Gunners, meanwhile, only had captain and talisman Thierry Henry to rely on, and their French leader did not let them down.

The first leg in the Bernabeu was a nervy affair, but Henry delivered when his team needed him the most. He broke away in the second half to score a stunning solo goal to give his side the advantage, and it was an advantage they wouldn’t surrender. No more goals were scored across the two legs, handing Arsenal a famous aggregate victory. They will be hoping they can do the same 19 years on.

Patrick Vieira’s return to Highbury is a miserable one

After beating Real Madrid, Arsenal were rewarded with a quarter-final against Italian champions Juventus. The Bianconeri were at the peak of their powers, adding former Gunners skipper Patrick Vieira to a stacked squad containing the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Del Piero, and Fabio Cannavaro. But it was the London club’s teenage replacement for their former skipper, Cesc Fabregas, who stole the show.

In the first leg at Highbury, the Spanish maestro scored the first five minutes before half-time, then assisted captain Henry for the second in the 69th minute to secure a 2-0 victory. The second leg in Turin finished goalless, sending Arsenal to the semifinals for the first time ever. They would then narrowly defeat Villareal over two legs in the final four before a Ronaldinho-powered Barcelona managed to secure the trophy in heartbreak fashion in the final in Paris.

Young Gunners come of age in the San Siro

By 2008, Arsenal were a team in transition. Forced to sell their prized assets to cover the costs of their state-of-the-art new Emirates Stadium home, Arsene Wenger had to build a team stacked with young talent. Gone were stars such as Henry, and Fabregas was left to lead the likes of Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Abou Diaby. Luckily, the Spaniard was a generational talent, and he was more than capable of being the leader his manager so desperately needed.

In the 2008 round of 16, the Gunners met reigning champions AC Milan in the second round. After the first leg at the Emirates finished goalless, the English side knew they were up against it in the second leg in the San Siro and defeat was a very real possibility. Fabregas had other ideas.

The young Arsenal captain rifled home from 35 yards in the 84th minute to put his side on the brink of a memorable win. Then, in the second minute of injury time, Walcott broke away down the right and fed Adebayor, who swept home from close range to secure a 2-0 aggregate victory.