Arsenal face improbable task against Bayern Ron, Bale back for Napoli clash
Gunners skipper Mertesacker admits tension in the squad ahead of their clash against German giants
LONDON COLNEY: Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker admitted to tension in the dressing room on Monday and said his struggling team haven’t shown enough fight, on the eve of their Champions League mission impossible.
Arsene Wenger’s side crashed to a third defeat in their last four Premier League games on Saturday as Liverpool beat them 3-1 at Anfield and the Arsenal manager has had to dismiss reports of a training-ground bust-up involving star forward Alexis Sanchez.
Wenger dropped Sanchez against Liverpool, only introducing him at half-time when his team already trailed by two goals.
It was the worst possible preparation for Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayern Munich, when they face the almost impossible task of overturning a 5-1 deficit.
And to make matters worse, German defender Mertesacker conceded Arsenal haven’t been willing to put their bodies on the line. “I think we saw on a lot of occasions that we absolutely weren’t ready for a fight,” Mertesacker told reporters at the club’s training base.
“That is what I want to see tomorrow. That we are up for a fight, to challenge for something. We haven’t competed a lot in recent games and we need to turn that around.
“At Liverpool we had a chance to go for it, to push it, even without our best player on the pitch.”
Arsenal’s troubles have brought renewed criticism of Wenger from fans and pundits, with many claiming it is time for the Frenchman to step down after almost 21 years with the north Londoners.
Mertesacker, who has been with Arsenal since 2011, admitted the current dip has led to a fraught atmosphere, but he insisted the players still support Wenger. “It’s hard for the manager to select the team but he does it with the best intention. We trust him,” Mertesacker said.
“It’s a little bit tense but it’s normal in a stretch like that. We want to change it and you can feel that in every training session.
“We need to make the first step to get the fans on board again.” MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were named Monday in Real Madrid’s Champions League squad for the last-16 second-leg tie against Napoli after missing the weekend win over Eibar.
Fourt-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo was sidelined with an injury which coach Zinedine Zidane described as “nothing serious”. Also back in the squad for Tuesday’s clash is Welshman Bale after completing a onematch ban.
Both were absent from Saturday’s 4-1 victory at Eibar in which Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez were outstanding. Reigning European champions Real lead Napoli 3-1 going into the second leg in Italy and tipped as favourites for a quarterfinal berth. Meanwhile, Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri said the Italians have little chance of overturning a first-leg deficit, claiming Real are “almost impossible” to beat. “It’s an almost impossible game for us because they score all the time,” Sarri told media at Napoli’s training ground a day ahead of Tuesday’s last-16 clash at the San Paolo, estimating his
side’s chances of success “three per cent”. If Napoli are to go through on away goals, the Serie A side will have to do what no team has managed since Wolfsburg beat Madrid in a quarterfinal first leg nearly a year and 46 games ago — keep a clean sheet against the reigning Champions League winners.
Napoli, looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time, have been playing arguably the best football in Italy this season, thanks in large part to on-form Belgium midfielder Dries Mertens. During a four-month injury absence for Napoli’s Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik, Mertens was pushed up front and has responded by taking his league tally to 18 goals.
Mertens is expected to start up front, flanked by Lorenzo Insigne and former Madrid forward Jose Callejon, in Sarri’s preferred 4-3-3 formation.