And just like that, they are no English teams left in the UEFA Champions League. By the time you read this, we will most likely be saying the same thing about the UEFA Europa League. Arsenal must travel to Wolves on Saturday, so they have minimal time to ruminate about their European elimination.
Manchester City was bounced from the competition, by Real Madrid, just a few hours later.
Arsenal at Wolves FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, April 20, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, UK
PL Position: Wolves 11th, 43 pts Arsenal 2nd, 71 pts
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Form: Wolves DLDLW Arsenal LWWDW
Google Result Probability: Wolves 12% Arsenal 70% Draw 18%
Liverpool and West Ham are in such dire straits in their UEL ties that their chances of overturning them are slim to none. The quarterfinal round of UEFA competition has just been brutal to British sides, and most likely, only Aston Villa will be left to carry the flag for EPL beyond tonight.
So now it means Arsenal can go all in on trying to catch Manchester City and win the Premier League title.
Said manager Mikel Arteta: “[The pain] is there. It’s not going to go away certainly tonight but I can guarantee you by tomorrow we’re fully focused on Wolves and everybody is lifted.
“What we still have to play for is beautiful. I said before it’s time to be next to these players. It’s easy to be behind them and praise the players and talk nice things when we win 10 in a row and one draw. The moment is now to be behind them and be next to them.”
Gunners Team News
Nothing at all to report here. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard had been regarded to be potential doubts entering the Bayern Munich loss. Both made the the matchday squad. Jurrien Timber remains sidelined as he recovers from his knee surgery.
Arsenal FC Starting XI Prediction at Wolves
David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Declan Rice, Jorginho, Kai Havertz; Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.