AC Milan vs Arsenal
With a respectable nod to the goings-on in Marseille, there’s only one main sports betting focus in Europe’s second competition this week.
For all the football games in the Round of 16, this one would not be out of place in the final of its sister competition, the Champions League.
That’s not a football prediction based on the classes of 2018 but on the proud history of an Italian and English heavyweight.
Step forward AC Milan and Arsenal.
The seven-time European champions meet the north Londoners with both clubs reflecting on better days gone by.
There is history between these two.
As recently as 2012, they clashed in the Champions League when Milan blitzed the Gunners 4-0 in the first leg and then held on, despite a spirited fightback at the Emirates which saw Arsenal run out 3-0 winners.
Four years earlier, the tables had been turned when Arsenal eliminated the then European champions, Gennaro Gattuso et al., on their own turf with a 2-0 victory in the San Siro.
Ahead of this meeting, football has been put in perspective.
Milan may be fresher after their weekend game was called off. However, following the tragic death of Italy defender Davide Astori, the fact they have lost one of their own—Astori started his career with the Rossoneri although never played a competitive match for them—will have shocked the club.
On the pitch in recent months, Gattuso has overseen a steady return to form after the false dawn at the start of the campaign when a big spending summer has sparked high expectations.
They are currently 13 matches unbeaten, with 10 victories, in all competitions and have reached the final of the Coppa Italia. During this stretch, Gattuso has overseen a substantial improvement from his players, especially from the likes of Giacomo Bonaventura, Franck Kessie, Davide Calabria, and young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
They welcome Arsenal to Italy who, in contrast, seem a club in regression.
The side is currently lacking leadership, cohesion, commitment and, on the surface, belief in their manager Arsene Wenger.
Losing twice in a week to English champions-elect Manchester City can be forgiven, but to lose to Brighton in the manner they did was embarrassing. Wenger might be the source of the problem, but he deserves more from many of his underperforming players.
It does seem like Wenger’s long goodbye has started.
Yet, we’ve been here before and maybe, just maybe, the San Siro can be the venue for Arsenal to recover some credibility.
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