Basel v Arsenal (Champions League)

Oh no, no one got injured and we won a genuinely competitive match so now my management skills are in question.

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I guess thereā€™s a psychological advantage to playing at home 2nd, but whereas with someone like Sevilla or Napoli thatā€™s a big advantage, I think with us itā€™s a much reduced advantage as our home atmosphere (even under the lights) is fairly tame.

I also think weā€™ve played better away from home than at home this season, we sort of go through phases of both. PSG did outplay us in London, whereas in Paris after riding our luck we got our act together quite well in the 2nd half. Historically our CL record is much better at home though.

I was hoping for Kaner, but youā€™ll do :sunglasses:

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Fuck sake, now Iā€™m making that face in the gif.

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The teams in first place are still a lot tougher. Barca, Atletico, Real (possibly), Juve (probably), Napoli and Monaco.

In second the only ā€œbigā€ test is perhaps Dortmund/Real or Bayern who i donā€™t think are as good as last season. Other teams in second are Benfica, Leverkusen, Porto and Sevilla/Lyon.

Yeah, there is no easy match at this stage but i know which group of teams Iā€™d rather take my chances with!

Actually mega excited tonight. Wonā€™t be able to sleep :grin:

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Koz stating there why coming top was so important that a lot of people seem to overlook.

The 2nd game at home.

Thatā€™s literally fucking massive for us.

Unless we completely fuck it up in the away leg. Which is entirely possible.

We always fuck it up in one of them. So might as well play the decisive game at home with the crowd behind us.

People ignore this so much but playing a decisive game at home in the CL can be the difference between an amazing campaign or flat out mediocrity.

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Iā€™ll break furniture if we draw Bayern again on Friday.

At this moment we can get (English teams omitted and unless I missed something):

Group B: Benfica
Group C: -
Group D: Bayern
Group E: Leverkusen
Group F: Dortmund or Real Madrid
Group G: Porto or Copenhagen
Group H: Sevilla, Juventus or Lyon

Leverkusen, Porto, Copenhagen or Lyon would make me feel better than Bayern, Dortmund, Real Madrid, Juventus or Sevilla.

Oh Leverkusen please, please, please. I know youā€™ve got to play the big teams eventually but a run in this would be really nice for a change!

Do people ignore it or has it just not been a thing for us as Arsenal fans for most of the last decade?

Yeah if we get Bayern again Iā€™m calling a fix! Though I reckon we could take them :grin:

Arsenal have gone through the group stage unbeaten for the first time since 2005-06 - when they reached the final.

Time to start booking that trip to Cardiff :henry2:

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Well this thread has certainly showed we ignore it. And tbh I rarely see people complain about us having to play our decisive games consistently away from home.

I mean at the end of the day we are there because weā€™ve been garbage compared to the team that do get the privilege but I definitely think itā€™s something worth championing for.

What are cup tournies if not a little bit of luck, magic and momentum. Would be nice to see the Emirates really have a chance to shine.

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Haha easy there spudsy, we couldnā€™t manage to beat what seems like a frankly very poor PSG team (oh Unai, what have you done there? :frowning: ) As it turns out we were in a frankly very poor group, maybe the worst of the lot?

Still, feels nice to finally finish in fucking 1st. The last time was when we got Milan in 2011-12, no?

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We played Giroud up front.

He destroys our football.

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Good for the psyche of the club to win the group. I just wonā€™t want Munich and Iā€™ll take whoever else. Yes Real would be a powerful team to draw, arguably the best, but itā€™d be someone different, and as most people say, youā€™re going to get a top team at one point.

Looking forward to the draw Monday morning!

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Donā€™t tell that to miss @Robin_L !

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Heā€™s huffing because we topped the group.