Arsenal hope for Bukayo Saka return for dream Real Madrid meeting in the Champions League

There it is, Arsenal will play Real Madrid in the next round of the UEFA Champions League. Prepare the highlight reels, you are about the see “Gunner Galactico” Thierry Henry in the yellow 2006 away shirt all the way up to mid-April.

It is a tie which for the Gunners flips the script of their last quarter-final match where they faced Bayern Munich. Arsenal went into that game being pegged as slight favourites, and when they went out to a narrow scoreline, it was a big disappointment.

This time around, the pressure is off and Arsenal will face Los Blancos very much the underdogs. Mikel Arteta was asked after the 9-3 aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven who he would prefer to face, but could not be forced to pick between the two sides.

“No, because they are so different, both the managers, the styles, the managers, the history of them,” he said. “We know about the difficulty for sure, but I cannot tell you one other thing.”

This will be the first time since Carlo Ancelotti was manager of Everton that both Arteta and the Italian will face-off against one another. Without question, the tactical mind of Arteta will be relishing an opportunity to work out a game plan for Real.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Arsenal, the manager and the players may have even preferred a draw with the historical icons of the game. Atletico Madrid are a side who have beaten Arsenal in European competition in recent history as Diego Simeone eliminated Arsene Wenger from the Europa League.

Their style is well-known and in some ways, it would have likely been a cagey affair with the style suiting the Rojiblancos. However, Real will be expected to be more dominant and have more of the ball, not to mention have the expectation of being the tagged favourites.

It could be a game that suits Arsenal, gives them more space and importantly, does not set them up against the dreaded low block that so many teams have successfully deployed to gazump Arteta. That said, this is a tactical genius in Ancelotti we are talking about and therefore maybe Madrid shock everyone and decide to play on the counter, they certainly have the players to hurt Arsenal.

An all-English midfield battle between Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham will be on display while other key battles like Kylian Mbappe up against countryman William Saliba and maverick defender Gabriel Magalhaes. Vinicius Jr against the in form Jurrien Timber with a potentially returning Bukayo Saka taking on Ferland Mendy.

That’s right, there is a small chance we could see Saka back in an Arsenal shirt by then. You can be sure that the Arsenal talisman will be doing everything in his power to fight his way back into the fold.

He has just under a month to be able to get into contention. Arteta’s most recent comments again prophesised just how willing he is to make a return after the international break.

Considering how quickly Gabriel Martinelli has been able to rejoin the group, it gives hope that there could be a similar situation with Saka. Although it should be noted that both hamstring injuries were different, with the English winger having a procedure on a considerable tear whereas Martinelli did not need to go under the knife.

Arteta again persisted with Mikel Merino against PSV and the Spaniard was largely ineffective. However, bringing on Leandro Trossard, very little changed in a game where the pressure was of course fully off as it was a formality for the Gunners to progress having won the first tie 7-1 in Eindhoven.

Should both Saka and Martinelli be ready to face Madrid, the question will be who starts through the middle. Some have suggested that the Brazilian himself deserves a shot, especially considering the form of Ethan Nwaneri who was given a night off on Wednesday ahead of the visit of Chelsea.

Nwaneri himself has also been referenced as a striker candidate by Arteta and it could be that the youngster is given the nod through the middle, flanked by Saka and Martinelli too. One option who will not be available for the first leg is Raheem Sterling who sadly despite having his best performance in an Arsenal shirt, got a rather silly booking with seconds left in the game. That means he has now picked up three yellow cards in the Champions League this season and will serve a one match suspension.

His two assists in the first half showed the quality that clearly still exists in the Chelsea loanee. Unable to play against his parent club this weekend, he will not play any football for the next three successive weekends with the club not in action after their derby with the Blues until April when they have a midweek hosting of Fulham.

While it was a very encouraging display from Sterling, the question, naturally, will be where has this been all season? Arsenal have needed some of the acceleration and deliveries from the right in the absence of Saka and Nwaneri has carried that responsibility practically on his own.

While the Premier League title is probably gone, all of Arsenal’s eggs are very much in the European basket. I personally cannot wait for both legs and that Emirates Stadium atmosphere in the second week of April is going to be very special indeed.