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A week can be a long time in football.
Last Tuesday night, Juventus were crestfallen. Two goals down and under the cosh at Highbury, they lost their heads. Mauro Camoranesi and Jonathan Zebina saw red for rash tackles and the Old Lady looked distinctly haggard.
Few onlookers saw a way back for the Bianconeri. But a week on, hope springs eternal. Arsenal's failure to underline their superiority with a third goal has made the rescue job less daunting. Home advantage could play a part. Oh, and Pavel Nedved is back.
It took a while for the Serie A giants to absorb the shock of their Highbury humbling. But from wondering how it all went wrong, thoughts have turned to how Juventus might turn the tie around in Turin.
"I think everyone was shocked, not so much by the fact that Arsenal were outstanding, but by how poor Juventus were," says Gabriele Marcotti of Corriere dello Sport.
"There was an inquest in the Italian press around some the players and Fabio Capello's tactics. But I think some of the wisest words came from Arsène Wenger who said he wished Arsenal had scored another goal. The simple truth is that Gianluigi Buffon was far and away Juve's best player and made some outstanding saves in the second half.
"If Arsenal had won 4-0 they would have deserved it. A 2-0 advantage is considerable in European football but from Juve's perspective they can get a goal in each half."Juve took the defeat badly because the Champions League is their top priority and to see it potentially snatched away was obviously hard for them. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Capello had words and Nedved joked that the team needed a psychologist. Nerves are certainly frayed and that is encouraging for Arsenal."Maybe so, but you don't cruise to an nine-point lead in Serie A without a large helping of class and character. Juve possess players who have proved themselves on the big stage - none more so than Nedved, the former European Footballer of the Year.
"Juventus were pinned back on the right because they were scared about Thierry Henry attacking down that flank, but having Nedved back will help them in that sense," says Marcotti.
"He's not been in his best form but on a night like this he can turn it on. What makes him so dangerous is that he can go around you but he's also very powerful for a guy his size so he can go through you too. He can shoot from anywhere within 30 yards of goal and will give Juve more energy and dynamism."Of course, the whole team needs to play better. If they play the way they did at Highbury then there is nothing Capello can do tactically which will allow Juve to turn around the tie.
"The big factor was Arsenal's five-man midfield. Juve found themselves dominated in that area and that can't happen again because the service to Ibrahimovic and David Trezeguet needs to be effective.
"How do they do that? The crucial thing is to get the full backs pushing up more, particularly Gianluca Zambrotta if he plays on the left. Zambrotta can be Juve's fifth midfielder and that will allow them to compete in that area. Also, with Nedved there Juve can get more crosses into the box and that is going to be important."
So there you have it. Compete in midfield and put pressure on Arsenal's defence with quality service to the towering strike pair of Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic. If they get it right, you can certainly see Juve scoring a couple of goals. Mind you, if Arsenal get one the Bianconeri would need four. Now that, surely, would be a bridge too far.
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The Arsenal manager also revealed that Sol Campbell is likely to start Wednesday night's game on the substitutes bench after recovering from a toe injury. Freddie Ljungberg is also back in the squad after a calf problem.
Arsenal's 19-man squad for Wednesday night's game is as follows:
Jens LEHMANN
Abou DIABY
Robert PIRES
Fredrik LJUNGBERG
Jose Antonio REYES
Robin VAN PERSIE
Alexander HLEB
Thierry HENRY
Francesc FABREGAS
Mathieu FLAMINI
Alexandre SONG
GILBERTO
Philippe SENDEROS
Sol CAMPBELL
Manuel ALMUNIA
Emmanuel EBOUE
Kolo TOURE
Theo WALCOTT
Johan DJOUROU Меня постоянно преследуют мудрые мысли... но я быстрее...
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ARSENAL FC, ლონდონის არსენალის ფანკლუბი
