Champions League Round-Up: Why does Arsene Wenger do it to himself?

Atletico Madrid have one last chance to reward Simeone

There are many terrifying people in the world. Most of them are in the Sopranos. Tony Soprano would give you a diet can of pop and shoot you in the chest a few seconds later. Silvio Dante would get the piano wire out to quell any potential sedition after a cheery meeting on the doorstep. Paulie Walnuts would smother you in your own home in exchange for some ready cash under the mattress. All of them had their own brooding, intense qualities, but none of them could match Diego Simeone for ruthless efficiency. Five games, five wins, 15 points, and his side top their Champions League group with a match to spare.

Simeone is going to leave Atletico Madrid in the summer, if things go as expected, and this is his last chance to become an even greater figure in the club’s history. After years of incompetence and infighting, Simeone transformed the side into a ferocious and disciplined opponent. He was inches from a Champions League triumph this season. With Lionel Messi not quite what he was, Bayern struggling and Real Madrid understaffed, this could be the year that he claims what only Carmela Soprano’s scheming could deny him.

Arsenal will probably have many more chances to disappoint their fans

Why does he do it? What is to be gained? Arsene Wenger chose Petr Cech and Granit Xhaka to start on the bench. He left Theo Walcott there, too, with Nacho Monreal. In their place were David Ospina, Kieran Gibbs, Francis Coquelin and Alex Iwobi. Granted, when it comes to Arsenal, there is inevitably going to be a fair bit of mediocrity filling out any first eleven, but this choice was provocatively poor from Wenger. This match mattered. It was not the league cup, or a home game against nonsense, it was the game that could have decided, and probably will decide, who is first seed from the group stages.

Instead of being ruthless, Wenger picked a side that didn’t have the requisite quality or mentality to take on PSG. He had a side which conceded from Gibbs’ wing, and which suffered from a lack of authority in midfield. It suffered from a lack of authority in goal, too. And it will likely cost them severely. This was not done so youngsters could all gain experience of European football, it was a needless risk that cannot be justified. It is impossible to have sympathy for a side which goes out of its way to invite disappointment and underachievement, just days after it did the same against Manchester United.

Dortmund score 8 (EIGHT (EEEEEIIIIIGGGGGHHHTTTTT)))

The game did not especially matter in the grand scheme of the competition. Borussia Dortmund now have 13 points, but they would have had a six point lead over Legia Warsaw had they lost the match. Qualification was not a concern, and there was no pressure on them to perform beyond the quest to finish top of the group. Even that is rarely a definitely positive achievement. However, there is no way that you can let a team go by scoring 8 (EIGHT (YES, EIGHT (NO, REALLY, EIGHT))) goals in a single game without noting it. Jurgen Klopp deserves much of the praise for showing Borussia Dortmund what can be done on a relatively slim budget, but Thomas Tuchel should be given recognition for keeping such an aggressive approach to the game intact.

Leicester City overachieve, this time in Europe

Leicester have struggled to recreate the magic of their last season. Jamie Vardy is not functioning as he once did, and it is now apparent that N’Golo Kante has not properly been replaced. Whether a direct replacement was ever really feasible is questionable, though, and so one can consider whether Claudio Ranieri’s transfer moves have been adequate. On balance, adding Ahmed Musa, Islam Slimani and others does really seem to have filled out the quality of the squad, and given time, they have shown elsewhere that they are players who offer an attacking, quick threat, and are young enough to continue to improve.

This adjustment period has cost them in the Premier League, where they are mid-table fodder, but the public has oddly ignored what they have managed in the Champions League. To have such an impressive defence, to qualify so quickly, and to adapt so quickly to Europe is not an achievement on a par with last season, but it is something Ranieri and his players should be proud of. It would be foolish to write off their chances of progression in the knockout stages.

Tottenham Hotspur decide to take the dull way out

Where Leicester have embraced Europe, Spurs have kept it at arm’s length. They stumbled early in the season, and that form was matched in the Champions League. They never appeared set for qualification, and they have lacked the intensity that they offered last season. In the league, it’s true, they’ve staged a definite improvement, and Mauricio Pochettino can and should retain the confidence of anyone who matters.

But Leicester have prioritised Europe, while Spurs seem to have sacrificed their chances in recent weeks. Most recently, they lost to Monaco with an eye on the match against Chelsea at the weekend. The reasoning is hard to fathom. They won’t get through to the next round, to focus better on Chelsea, so they can qualify for Europe next season, where presumably they will rest players in Europe to make sure they’re back in it, and so on and so on. It is hard to understand what the point of qualifying for Europe is if you’re willing to give it up so quickly.