Champions League, Last 16 Draw: Opposition preview

The draw for the knock-out stages of the Champions League take place on Friday morning in Nyon. There are 7 teams that Arsenal can draw in the last 16, so I have decided to take some time to analysis each potential opposition.

Napoli



Coach: Walter Mazzarri (since 2009)
Stadium: Stadio San Paolo, Naples
League: Serie A (currently 5th)

Usual formation:

Tactics

Hamsik has 5 goals in 15 appearances this season, and not only is a goal threat, but has fantastic technique and ability to create space for himself in midfield. Cavani is the main danger man with 12 goals in 19 apps this season, whilst Lavezzi, not a great goalscorer, but another fantastic individual player. Gargano and Inler are two hard-working midfielders, but Inler is the one with the ability on the ball, and has the ability to pass and shoot (his goal in Villarreal proof). Maggio is Italy's best right-sided player right now, whilst Zuniga provides pace and directness down the left. De Sanctis is a top goalkeeper, even if he can be unorthodox at times. Defensively Napoli are sound, only conceding 14 this season in their 14 league games.

Do we want them?

No. Along with Milan, the most dangerous side we can meet.


CSKA Moscow



Coach: Leonid Viktorovich Slutsky (since 2009)
Stadium: Arena Khimki, Khimki
League: Russian Premier League (currently 2nd)

Usual formation:

Tactics

CSKA Moscow are able to change formations consistently. Slutsky can alternate between the 3-4-1-2 formation, and a 4-4-2 formation, more commonly used at home. Long-term injuries to Akinfeev and Honda have not stopped the Russians making it through to the last 16, and both players should be back in time for the knock-outs in February. CSKA are a dangerous side with a front duo full of pace, finihing ability and movement. Doumbia is the top scorer in teh Russia league with 23 goals, whilst Love is a former Brazil international. Alan Dzagoev is a well-known player, only 21-years old and the next big thing in Russian football. He likes to play from the left or behind the strikers and is full of self-confidence and skill.

Do we want them?

Ideally not. A trip to Russia is never easy, and the front 4 that CSKA have are all capable of match-winning moments.


Basel



Coach: Heiko Vogel (since 2011)
Stadium: St. Jakob-Park, Basel
League: Swiss Super League (currently 1st)

Usual formation:

Tactics:

Basel's 2-1 win againt Manchester United proved just how dangerous the Swiss champions can be. In Shaqiri, they have a player who is much coveted by Europe. One of the stars of the u-21 European championships in the summer, the winger is full of skill, awareness, technique amongst other qualities. The strike partnership of Streller and A.Frei is a huge threat to any side too. They aren't great defensively though, and Steinhofer at right-back, is better in midfield.

Do we want them?

If Arsenal get Basel, then Wenger will be relatively happy. They may have taken 4 points off a complacent United in the groups, but Arsenal's midfield and attack should be enough to get the gunners past the Swiss side.


Lyon



Coach: Remi Garde (since 2011)
Stadium: Stade Gerland, Lyon
League: Ligue 1 (currently 4th)

Usual formation:

Tactics

Remi Garde has plenty of options in his Lyon squad. The above formation is probably his first-choice eleven, but there are players such as Ederson, Kone, Lacazette and Lopez who would all claim to be first-choice players. This is not a great Lyon side, not at the level of the Lyon who won 7 consecutive league titles. They were beaten 4-0 and 2-0 by Real Madrid in the groups, but qualified thanks to that bizarre 7-1 win at Dinamo Zagreb. Bastos and Gourcuff are dangerous wide players who like to come inside. Cissokho likes to get forward from left-back and cross, whilst Briand and Gomis are full of pace and movement. Gonalons and Kallstrom do all the donkey work in the midfield, but defensively, this side isn't great.

Do we want them?

Like Basel, Lyon have a few players that would be of concern across the 2 legs should we draw them, but Wenger would know everything about them, and their manager. Having already beaten Marseille this season, Arsenal would be confident with Lyon.


Leverkusen



Coach: Robin Dutt (since 2011)
Stadium: BayArena, Leverkusen
League: Bundesliga (currently 6th)

Usual formation:

Tactics

Leverkusen are another tactically versatile side. Dutt can operate between 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 quite often. Against Chelsea on match day 5, the Leverkusen manager played a cautious game with just the one front man and the highly-rated Schurrle replaced by a more defensive player, Castro. Tricky winger Tranquillo Barnetta has not played this season due to injury, whilst talanted playmaker Renato Augusto is also currently injured. are excellent players who are both on the long-term injury list, whilst Rene Adler has fallen out with the manager meaning Leno is now the first-choice keeper. Schurrle and Sam are dangerous wide players, but Kiessling has just 3 Bundesliga goals this campaign. However, Leverkusen also have Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok in reserve. The Leverkusen midfield is hard-working whilst the full-backs get forward to support the wide players, particularly the Czech Kadlec.

Do we want them?

Leverkusen are another dangerous side. There are better options in the draw, but Leverkusen are a 'better' draw than AC Milan or Napoli.

AC Milan



Coach: Massimiliano Allegri (since 2010)
Stadium: San Siro, Milan
League: Serie A (currently 3rd)

Usual formation:

Tactics

The Italian champions are not as good as they were 5 years ago when the likes of Maldini, Pirlo and Kaka were around but they still have an abundance of quality all over the pitch. Ibrahimovic is one of the world's top strikers on his day, as is Robinho. Boateng is an excellent attacking midfielder, with an eye for goal whilst Nocerino has replaced Gattuso superbly, who is out long-term alongside Cassano. Abate has developed into one of Italy's best right-backs whilst Thiago Silva is one of Europe's top central defenders. Abbiati is ageing and unconvincing at times in goal however, and Antonini is a weak link at left-back. 35-year old Nesta is obviously not the player he once was at centre-back, but Mexes provides an alternative option, once he regains full-fitness. Milan may have Carlos Tevez in their ranks by the time the last 16 comes round.

Do we want them?

No. Arsenal would be unlucky to draw Milan on Friday. Milan have the ability to knock-out any side on their day, so best avoided.


Zenit St Petersburg



Coach: Luciano Spalletti (since 2009)
Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium, St Petersburg
League: Russian Premier League (currently 1st)

Usual formation:

Malafeev

Anyukov(c) B.Alves Lombaerts Criscito

Denisov Zyryanov

Ionov Danny Lazovic

Kerzhakov

Tactics

Spalletti's side are more about work-rate than flair, but they do have some good indivudals. Portuguese play maker Danny is the danger man, with his link-up play, dribbling and passing ability, whilst Kerzhakov is a vastly experienced striker who has a knack of scoring goals. Criscito and Anyukov are very good full-backs whilst Bruno Alves in central defence is a Portguese starting international, and the pillow of the defence. Ionov is a 22-year old right-winger who is a danger to left-backs.

Do we want them?

Arguably the 'easiest' option in the draw. But like all other 6 sides, they can be dangerous.

Awesome work mate, looking forward to you finishing this!

One bit of a favour, do it before Thursday. I fly for my vacation on Friday morning and would miss the draw and would only tune into the forum on Saturday, so I would get the low down on the proceedings then.

Cheers and again, great job.

great work ساموئل
just wrote ur name in persian

Very good job Sam.

Yes the only team I dont want to face is Ac Milan, and knowing our luck we will face them.

Well done Sam!

I maybe the only one but i dont fear AC Milan and think we can win over them. I watch like thier every game and the only player we should fear is thier talisman Ibrahimovic. If we manage to stop him then iam pretty sure we can win over them. Milans defense is good because of Thiago Silva and he is the only one. Thier fullbacks arent that good, they dont have any permament LB and thier RB is fast but he is not good defensively.

The team that i fear the most is Napoli and really want to avoid playing against them.

Will update zenit in the next hour

djoe26 wrote:Well done Sam!

I maybe the only one but i dont fear AC Milan and think we can win over them. I watch like thier every game and the only player we should fear is thier talisman Ibrahimovic. If we manage to stop him then iam pretty sure we can win over them. Milans defense is good because of Thiago Silva and he is the only one. Thier fullbacks arent that good, they dont have any permament LB and thier RB is fast but he is not good defensively.

The team that i fear the most is Napoli and really want to avoid playing against them.

Djourou - Koscielny - Mertesacker - Vermaelen

Zlatan would feel like Torres.

Amazing job Sam, thanks.

I would like to avoid Milan and Napoli too, not that we can't beat them - but a nice draw is always good.

I don't want to face Basel either, I want them to succeed

Thanks for all the compliments guys.

I had a day off work today, so I thought I would just write up this article.

I wanted to do it anyway, because I wanted to learn more about the 7 teams.

I found out quite a lot of information about the Russian teams and Basel.

Pretty much knew everything there is to know about Napoli/Milan/Lyon.

Hope you enjoyed it. Lets hope we get a good draw.

srigooner wrote:

djoe26 wrote:Well done Sam!

I maybe the only one but i dont fear AC Milan and think we can win over them. I watch like thier every game and the only player we should fear is thier talisman Ibrahimovic. If we manage to stop him then iam pretty sure we can win over them. Milans defense is good because of Thiago Silva and he is the only one. Thier fullbacks arent that good, they dont have any permament LB and thier RB is fast but he is not good defensively.

The team that i fear the most is Napoli and really want to avoid playing against them.

Djourou - Koscielny - Mertesacker - Vermaelen

Zlatan would feel like Torres.

Yeah i know our defense has been much better than what it was last season but we still dont have our fullbacks yet. I just dont feel safe whenever Djourou plays, i hope Sagna returns soon.

I'd rather we avoid a trip to Russia in the cold, really. I actually, and honestly, fear Napoli the most out of all these teams but I am confident we can beat all of them if we face them.

Leverkuzen are another team that I'm not-so-keen on facing. They never give up, and they are masters of comebacks. We are becoming more secure when we are in the lead now, and have made several comebacks ourselves, but Leverkuzen might provide a stern opposition. That said, they would have been a tougher opposition to face a season or two ago, when we really were horrible at keeping leads. We can beat them with relative ease, but you really never know with Leverkuzen.

We have a really good chance of qualifying. I'd love for us to face Milan though

Iceman wrote:I'd rather we avoid a trip to Russia in the cold, really. I actually, and honestly, fear Napoli the most out of all these teams but I am confident we can beat all of them if we face them.

Leverkuzen are another team that I'm not-so-keen on facing. They never give up, and they are masters of comebacks. We are becoming more secure when we are in the lead now, and have made several comebacks ourselves, but Leverkuzen might provide a stern opposition. That said, they would have been a tougher opposition to face a season or two ago, when we really were horrible at keeping leads. We can beat them with relative ease, but you really never know with Leverkuzen.

We have a really good chance of qualifying. I'd love for us to face Milan though

Leverkusen is an hour from my place.. I'd go for the match if its not a day before my exams.. Fingers crossed

However, I think we can beat any of these teams on our day..

srigooner wrote:

Iceman wrote:I'd rather we avoid a trip to Russia in the cold, really. I actually, and honestly, fear Napoli the most out of all these teams but I am confident we can beat all of them if we face them.

Leverkuzen are another team that I'm not-so-keen on facing. They never give up, and they are masters of comebacks. We are becoming more secure when we are in the lead now, and have made several comebacks ourselves, but Leverkuzen might provide a stern opposition. That said, they would have been a tougher opposition to face a season or two ago, when we really were horrible at keeping leads. We can beat them with relative ease, but you really never know with Leverkuzen.

We have a really good chance of qualifying. I'd love for us to face Milan though

Leverkusen is an hour from my place.. I'd go for the match if its not a day before my exams.. Fingers crossed

However, I think we can beat any of these teams on our day..

If we do draw Leverkusen and you go the game in Germany, remember to take pictures and post them on the forums!

Samuelj29060 wrote:

srigooner wrote:
Leverkusen is an hour from my place.. I'd go for the match if its not a day before my exams.. Fingers crossed

However, I think we can beat any of these teams on our day..

If we do draw Leverkusen and you go the game in Germany, remember to take pictures and post them on the forums!

Sure thing man

First leg would be here in that case.. As long as its not 14 Feb, I can go for the game.. I have two exams on 15th..

Oh and assuming I get tickets, even if in the home stands.. The Dortmund tickets were sold out in 2 hours

I know they all are tough teams, but we all know we have the best Striker in the world, and one of the top GK in the world in our squad . By the time we face them we should be a healthy squad. :shisha:

All i want for new year's is Milan

they always have problems with speed, and even Spurs proved it last season

Should be remembered, if Milan do sign Tevez in January, he can't play as he is ineligible. Played 10 minutes for Man City v Napoli on match day 1

Nice OP

Good work

fantastic work sam

I would ideally want to ignore Milan and Napoli. Would love Basel ofcoarse but at this point, no fixture is easy.


btw what time is the draw ?

Would love to beat Napoli or Basel, to just show the Manchester teams how its done.

Friday,11 AM, UK time

oh crap

wont be at home

I will catch the draw before leaving for work in the morning. Will tweet and post the draw as normal.

(@samuelj29060)

i will be on the twitter during my class lol

Damn iam at work

RG tweet me that shit , Btw great work OP