Arsenal: Yes, Napoli draw a disaster

Arsenal have been drawn against Napoli in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. If you thought it was a disaster, then yes, you were right.

Thursday night was a sensational victory for Arsenal. Overturning a 3-1 deficit from a calamitous first leg against a dangerous Rennes side, dismantling them in a manner that looked completely unattainable after the first leg, was mightily impressive.

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And not only was the performance was one of the best of the season, which I feel I am writing with increasing regularity these days, but it also put the gunners into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, a competition that they most certainly have the ability to win.

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Winning the Europa League would not just be a European trophy either, something that, incidentally, Arsene Wenger never achieved during his 22 years. It also offers a route into next season’s Champions League. Unai Emery’s side do look on course to finish in the top four after last Sunday’s win over Manchester United, but with five out of their remaining eight matches coming away from the Emirates, it would be nice to have a back-up plan.

Sad news, then, that the quarter-final draw on Friday morning pitted Arsenal against the best team in the competition. Of the other seven teams remaining in the competition, only Chelsea and Napoli posed a truly frightening proposition, and even in terms of Chelsea, the north Londoners likely would have been favourites. The likes of Villareal, Slavia Prague and Benfica, while dangerous, are inferior sides.

The balls producing Napoli as Arsenal’s quarter-final opponents, therefore, is a disastrous draw. The Italians may have lost Marek Hamsik to China in the January transfer window, but they currently sit second in Serie A, the next best team in the division behind Juventus, still boast the threats of Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Arkadiusz Milik, who have combined for 40 goals this season, and are managed by Carlo Ancelotti.

Napoli have consistently been one of the more dangerous European sides during the last decade. They also pushed Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain exceptionally hard in the group stages of the Champions League, drawing both matches against PSG and beating Liverpool at home while losing at Anfield. This is no easy task.

Moreover, they are perfectly suited to playing Arsenal. Dogged in midfield, anchored by the superb Kalidou Koulibally and boasting terrifying pace on the counter-attack, it is as if they have been designed to break down Emery’s possession-based style.

If you thought that this draw was a disaster, then you were absolutely spot on. That does not mean that the Gunners are incapable of winning. They are. And they might well do, especially given their recent form. But things could not have gone much worse on Friday morning.