Most online sports betting pundits will still have Barcelona down as favourites to progress to the last eight of the Champions League at the expense of Arsenal. This is despite the 2-1 win for the Gunners last night at the Emirates.
One man who believes the English team can overcome the Spaniards in their own back yard in a couple of weeks though is Arsenal Wenger. To be fair, after the second half showing yesterday, many betting online might be persuaded likewise.
Wenger got the psychological comment out of the way before talking up his team’s chances though. He said that Barcelona are ‘still favourites’ to progress. He doesn’t want to increase any pressure on players, after all.
What the victory over arguably the best club team to have played the game has done is given Arsenal confidence. Perhaps this will be enough to keep their lead intact after the second leg? Wenger thinks it could be.
The Frenchman said: “We know now we can beat them. We didn't know that last year.”
"I'm very proud because everybody urged us to play differently to our nature. We can be proud of the result, but more than pride it can strengthen the belief in our philosophy.”
What chance for Arsenal then? They have certainly improved on last year, in terms of result and performance.
However, they will need to improve on their second leg showing from this time last season. The Gunners were hammered 4-1 at the Nou Camp and thoroughly outclassed by a Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona.
The faces are this – Arsenal are a better team than last year. They have a goal advantage going into the second leg. They now know they can beat Barcelona. Put all of these together and Arsenal have a chance of coming away from Spain with a positive result.
There is still a lot of work to do, but they CAN do it. Good luck to them.
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