Yin vs Yin

By Papageorgiou Alexis

The clash of the titans is finally at our doorstep. Wengers possession football vs
Guardiolas. Yin vs Yin, Yang vs Yang. It doesnt get any better than this in October.
Put the beers in the fridge, ready the snacks, take care of family responsibilities at
least an hour prior the first whistle, feed the dog, the cat, the crocodile and take a
seat, because we all have free tickets to a rollercoaster ride. Make no mistake, even
though 14 other teams will be fighting for the 3 points in this 3 rd game of the
Champions League group stage, the whole world will tune in the Emirates
frequency, expecting the ultimate hearing sensation.
The home team confronts the toughest of challenges, Heracles labor number 13, as
they host a perfect Bayern Munich, domestically and otherwise, a set of players in
simply scintillating form, destroying everyone they encounter, week in week out
with scary ease.
Across the river, Arsenal faced several ups and downs in this seasons bumpy ride,
but fortunately for almost all football fans, they will be entering the pitch in the best
possible form. The signal for attack was transmitted 4 weeks ago versus Man Utd,
when 20 mins of cooler than ice, pure attacking, breath taking football, ended the
derby prematurely in a resounding manner, and issued a statement of intent for a
comeback on all fronts.
Arsenal reminded us, but most crucially, reminded themselves, of the quality of
football they are able and should deliver every time they set foot on the grass. A
type of game embedded to their philosophy, their badge and their DNA, since the
Wenger who?, Pires, Ljungberg, Vieira, Overmars, Henry and Bergamp era.
In order to keep the European dream alive though, the gunners are left with no
other choice, than to stop the Red alarm clock from ringing in Holloway, a sound
pleasant like a womans scream in your ear, and one familiar to them from their
2012 & 2013 European campaigns. Bottom of the table, with 2 out of possible 2
losses, Wengers boys are simply underachieving in the CL, since few me also
excluded, perceive their results as a normal performance suiting their footballing
skills. Passion and desire level, still to be discovered, as they come face to face with
the possibility of gifting their fans, the worst Christmas present ever.
Personally I expect the Bavarians to continue in the same high-flying tempo, but I
have my doubts about the quality of the resistance they will face during the
invasion, a doubt fed by some suicidal performances and some masterclass ones by
the local defenders.

After all, one can simply hope for tennis like football, and an opponent able to stand
ground against Lewandowski, Muller, Costa, Neuer & partners.
The German Spy holds the key.
Ozil will have a huge task against his countrymen, and it is my belief that his
performance will prove to be far more influential than his teammates. He knows half
the Bayern squad, inside out, and he holds the key to open the Bayern door, unless
Wenger chose the bunkers and suddenly pledges loyalty to counter attacking
football. Admittedly so, I am simply not sure, this door can be opened from the
outside, this calendar year, but waiting for an opponents mistake, is the mistake all
other contenders made, causing hell to break loose.
A magic through ball, a special well timed dribble, the costume he wears for the
party, will set Arsenals sartorial choice. His ability to turn Guardiolas weapon
against him, and his undisputed propensity to earn his money in tight spaces, is the
spark Arsenal will need, in order to overcome an opponent who enters the ring, with
only KOs under his belt.
Arsenal is for me, a sleeping giant, but a giant who overslept in his
European bed.
At Tuesday night, I expect tiki to divorce taka, in a game where the battle of the
midfield, will be the first step, in securing the vital for survive 3 points.
Every gunner must be firing with all cylinders for 90 minutes, and if the ammunition
is not enough, the crowd will have to keep reloading the magazine until the war is
over.
The Chilean winger is also on impressive form, and his inability to miss the net in
recent matches, serves as a hope generator for the Gooners. Alexis is bagging the
goals in the PL, in a consistent manner to his managers pleasure, and he is the
spear Guardiola respects the most. The workload is immense, and it will need to be
once more by the ex-Barcelona man.
Defensive wise, Arsenal have an Everest to climb, with Lewa on lethal form. 6 goals
in 15 matches isnt bad at all, by many standards. But switch the place of 6 and 15,
and you can see the otherworldly acquirements of the most formidable Polish serial
killer since pen & paper were discovered.
And when you realize that this man is not the heart of this German super-machine,
Muller is, its only human to feel fear, and make thoughts of throwing the towel,
before the first round. But even hearing Wenger share publicly his thoughts on
resting Ozil and Sanchez for this match, I still dont think he feels shivers down his
spine, and I am willing to bet anything on the contrary.
After all, Walcott, a man reborn, is pretty confident ahead of the big clash.

Playing against Bayern and their quality is of course going to be a

challenge for us, but we are at home with our support and we need a
similar sort of performance like we had against Manchester United. We
know we can beat anyone and were going to be completely ready for this
one. We need to move on from the first couple of results in the Champions
League. We know we are capable of getting results against Bayern and we
want to put things right.
Subsequently their 9th win in a row against Werder Bremen, Bayern captain Philip
Lahm stated. I cant see an end to this streak. Take it as you like, but this
overconfidence isnt generated by a character flaw. Hard work in training, and an
energy source to be envied by many, is the stimulus of a record, record demolition
year.
Every battle on the field will be principal towards the outcome of the war. Sanchez
vs Lahm, Bellerin vs Costa, Cazorla vs Vidal, Neuer on the one side and Cech on the
other. Alaba and Ramsey, Coquelin & Thiago, whoever chosen by the masters of
past & future tiki taka, will be tested under hot iron.
And as their soldiers collide, the two generals will also stand trial for the technical
artistry.
After all said and done prematch, which I will admit, is entertaining, one can simply
expect the respective parties, to keep their promises and deliver where it matters
the most.