After suffering a 4-1 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League Quarter-final, many would have felt that CSKA Moscow are already set to be eliminated from the competition without a ball being kicked in the return fixture.
However, after the dramatic scenes at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night which saw AS Roma overturn the same deficit against Barcelona, and subsequently the knock out the Catalan giants then it will at least give the Russian outfit hopes of doing the same when the square off against Arsenal.
The Gunners will be brimming of confidence of their own though as they made light work of CSKA Moscow last week at the Emirates. Although they scored four goals, if the truth be told they could and probably should have scored a couple more.
At the same time though, CSKA Moscow will consider themselves unlucky not to have scored more than the solitary away goal that they bring back to the 2nd leg. The odds are certainly against them going into this tie but if European football has taught us one thing then it is never say never.
Arsene Wenger’s men come here in good form after recording a third straight Premier League win at the weekend and a sixth in all competitions. Their blip earlier in the year looks to be a thing of the past as the pursuit of silverware edges ever closer.
It was a much changed that eventually got the better of Southampton last Sunday, with former Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagging his third goal in two matches while his fellow strike partner Danny Welbeck picked up two goals of his own.
They were pushed all the way by Southampton especially at one point of the game where they 2-1 down but thankfully the England international Welbeck was on hand to turn the game back in Arsenal’s favour.
Although in fairness the forward who once plied his trade for Manchester United should have had a hat-trick after spurning a guilt edged chance from all of three yards. Thankfully though his embarrassment can be outweighed by the delight in picking up all three league points.
With Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four all but gone due do the impressive form of Liverpool and Tottenham, this competition will become the primary focus between now and the end of campaign.
Because of this, it means that the North London outfit can rest key players in the league to make sure they are at the peak in the Europa League, and with the club just three games from the final they will be confident of a return to the Champions League next season.
CSKA Moscow come into this game having lost a local derby to cross town rivals Dynamo last weekend, so it Is fair to say that they have not had the best of preparations for this clash and that defeat does not bode well for this upcoming clash.
Last week, Arsenal showed just how ruthless they can be in front of goal and with the job all but done they may well ease off a little bit in the second leg. Arsenal sitll have enough to win this game as they earn an away victory in a game where both teams will score.