Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Amos 
Date:Friday December 19 2008
Time: 11:49AM
UK time is: 03:54:26
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Roma up next in the Champions League
Arsenal have been handed a draw against AS Roma in the knockout round of the Champions League.
The full draw is:
Chelsea v Juventus
Villareal v Panathanaikos
Sporting V Bayern
Atletico v Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
InterMilan v Man. United
The draws are to be played on the 24/25th February and 10/11 March
Roma are currently sitting 10th in Serie A with a poor away record. It is questionable whether having the home league first is an advantage or not in such a contest but the Italian side clearly doesn`t travel well. However they did top their group in the opening stage of the CL and have a number of players with big reputations such as Aquilani, De Rossi and Totti. It also offers Julio Baptista a chance to reacquaint himself with the Emirates Stadium having spent a year on loan with us during our first season there.
The first game is more than 2 months away so time for both times to find some consistent form but hopefully our positive record against Italian opposition can be maintained.
Commenting after the draw Arsene Wenger said "It`s a 50—50 draw really because I believe we are almost back to form and it`s maybe in Italy the team that plays best in the short space. So it will be interesting and I believe we want to make a good - or fit a good role but for me at the beginning it is balanced - well balanced."
Join Vital Arsenal
Want to comment on this article? It's easy to register , simply click the link and enjoy getting involved (you can even win prizes!)
Message Board To visit the message board, click here. Get involved
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
Your Comments
When do we find out the date? I'm tearing my hair out here and haven't done a jot of work
shewore
reasonably good draw. footballing side, no problem, they are a team that likes to play just the way we do, so we can beat them if we play to our potential. the only concern will be the home fans in Rome. they are real trouble makers, and with Rome being the destination for the final this season, i can see all hell breaking lose if we win or if we are winning the tie in the second leg..
luckys_10
just booked my flight to pescara 180k or two hours drive from rome for £65 return on ryanair...direct flights to rome were £180 oneway with easy jet or £200+ return with ryanair
fran merida
Yeah but what dates Fran? CFC out there n all, that's gonna hike the prices up. Prob gonna do it via Germany.
shewore
Every year I forget what time the draw is on and every year I'm reminded by my same Liverpool supporting buddy asking me to text him the draw .. lol .. Good draw for us, we avoided some massive teams, and not to take anything away from Roma as they're a good side, but it could have been much much worse. We have a good record against Italian teams too. Many think it's better to have the second eg at home, but I think that it's being away because should it go to extra time, then we will have an extra 30 minutes to score that away goal than what Roma will have had at our gaff.
Rocky7
Anyone know the date!?
shewore
I'm still wondering what the hell is happening with our directors. The topsy-turvy nature of our season on the pitch seems to be mirrored in the boardroom. The conspiracy theory doing the rounds is this is Danny Fiszman's exit strategy... ie:force Lady B-S out, get her to sell her shares to the russian mobster who will then be 'forced' to take over the club. This allows Fiszman to realsie his shares without the curses of us fans ringing in his ears. Sound far fetched? Stranger things have happened.
Wyn Mills
Fran, we saw that flight too, but held off. Trains in Italy are cheap/ reliable so i fancy we'll fly to Milano and commute. My man was on the ryaniar site poised for purchase but as soon as he got through to the pay page, it sent him back. Shewore, the date won't be decided for a few hours yet.
Little Dutch
He says prophetically, first leg Tuesday, second leg Wednesday.
Little Dutch
24th Feb & 11th March..
luckys_10
Oh and to anyone else who is going, beware the police. Last time the search I got on entry to the turnstiles was rigorous. Too rigorous. It was the kind if thing you'd expect to have to part money with in the darkest allies of Soho if you get my drift.
Little Dutch
Sorted! Good shout Fran, doing that one with 2 nights in Rome, few Chelsea mates said there's a couple of blinding clubs there.
Atmos should be good, esp if we need a win.
shewore
Watch out for the loo's on the trains they are the pits. Wish i could go with you but Rome what a bog hole.
alwaysgunner
I loved Rome, I thought it was a beautiful city. The stadium is a bit of a hole though.
Little Dutch
LD I am amazed I really am. I visited it in July the city was parched all the gardens looked as though they could have done with a little bit of water; dry as a bone. Graffiti everywhere and i mean everywhere.not a building spared. And the pickpockets were running amok. As for the food , crap had better Italian food served up in Kidderminister. As for their toilet facilities even the flies would go there. Compared to when I visited it in 1963, not a patch. London was paradise in comparison. Best place was the War graves at Naples I'm sorry to say; they were magnificent, beautifully looked after. But that is in my opinion.
alwaysgunner
Should have been wouldn't go there it stank so much.
alwaysgunner
The interesting thing about the draw is that Liverpool and United don't seem to have gleaned any sort of advantage from topping their groups. Had we topped ours, we would have drawn Atletico, which would have been a very tough tie indeed. This justifies Wenger's selection in Porto.
Little Dutch
Disagree there, think playing the second leg at Anfield/OT will make a significant difference, but, from the aspect of the pure 'draw' then yes, there is no advantage.
shewore
I didn't really explain that very well did I... i know what i mean!
shewore
Good tie for you and winnable over two legs
Tiny T
just found out the match is on wednesday...that means i can take my time getting to rome,even if the flight is delayed etc it shouldnt matter....im seriously thinking about booking a car its going to be no more than £35 each including petrol split 3 ways,but trains are such a laugh,cheap as chips and reliable..it all depends on how close to the centre im going to be based
fran merida
LD the journey from milan will be a bit longer than from pescara, i remember flying to venice for the turin game and that was a treck, the train from milan to venice was over 3 hours if i remember right,if youve got an early departure flight you might be traveling in the wee small hours just to catch it
fran merida
if anyone was wondering i was talking about two different games, turin for juve and milano for inter...i didnt go from venice to milan to turin in one hit...that would be crazzzy
fran merida
shewore check this out
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187770-i1387-k616083-Pescara_to_Rome_bus-Pescara_Abruzzo.html
fran merida
Yeah, Milan's about four hours away, we might look at Siena or Perugia. We too wanted to book Tuesday to Thursday without waiting for the dates, but the prices went up too quickly so we've held back for a while. Plus, Chelsea will be in the North and I really don't want to be travelling with them!
Little Dutch
Great stuff Fran, much appreciated. Hopefully the pound can sort itself out in the next couple of months, not bloody likely though. On our waaaayyyy... get to go to Rome twice in a season!
shewore
wow fellas..we have a touch match on sunday - liverpool..IMO Roma can wait till after that
number14
AS Roma don't play an italian style of football so it should be end-to-end stuff! This is a much younger, faster team than AC milan. I think all the English teams have tough draws!
ForeverUnited
*tough
number14
I'm worried about this one. I know they aren't doing well in the league but we of all people should know that league form does not correspond with CL form. I don't know why but i'm not feeling very confident at the moment. I'm usually unrealistically optimistic after these draws, but today I'm worried. Usually it's us with a point to prove and that desire sees us through, but Roma have an equal one too here. We should have Eduardo back though, and maybe theo?
ArsenalRob
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
Who Is Your Vital Arsenal Player of the Season? (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Newcastle United 0 Arsenal 1 (Monday May 20 2013)
VIDEO: Wenger Praises 'Exceptional' Attitude (Monday May 20 2013)
Arsene Wenger, Now Is The Time (Monday May 20 2013)
The Moment That Made It All Worthwhile (Sunday May 19 2013)
Happy St Totteringham's Day To Gooners Everwhere (Sunday May 19 2013)
Team News: Last Game Of The Season (Sunday May 19 2013)
The Squeaky Bum Preview (Friday May 17 2013)
Wenger Confirms Sanogo Deal Almost Done (Friday May 17 2013)
Mid-Morning Ablutions #11 (Thursday May 16 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | nikolaijns | 60 |
| 2. | Rocky7 | 52 |
| 3. | Naijagunner | 46 |
| 4. | Wyn Mills | 34 |
| 5. | Nwankwo25 | 20 |
| 6. | flv | 20 |
| 7. | prits | 20 |
| 8. | gunnerkid107 | 19 |
| 9. | julieloveshenry4ever | 16 |
| 10. | No 10 | 15 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Newcastle | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 4 | - | 1 | Wigan |
| Q.P.R. | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 1 | - | 1 | Man Utd |
| Fulham | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 0 | - | 0 | Everton |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1. Man Utd | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 43 | 89 |
| 2. Man City | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 32 | 78 |
| 3. Chelsea | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 75 |
| 4. Arsenal | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 35 | 73 |
| 5. Spurs | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 72 |
| 6. Everton | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 63 |
| 7. Liverpool | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 28 | 61 |
Breaking League News
| Last Man Of The Match Vote Of The Season
» Wigan : 21/05/2013 23:56:00
|
| Carroll Linked With NUFC (Again)
» Newcastle : 21/05/2013 23:43:00
|
| Players react to Pulis departure
» Stoke : 21/05/2013 22:37:00
|
| Stoke confirm Pulis exit
» Stoke : 21/05/2013 22:24:00
|
| Liverpool: Papadopoulos Is The Top Target
» Liverpool : 21/05/2013 18:31:00
|
| Out Through the Exit Door
» Chelsea : 21/05/2013 18:02:00
|
| Sir Alex Cleans Up
» Man Utd : 21/05/2013 18:01:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|