Yesterday's Champions League third qualifying round draw saw a few high profile ties emerge with the likes of FC Twente v Benfica, Bayern Munich v FC Zurich and Lyon v Rubin Kazan catching the eye. However, the clash of the draw sees Arsenal pit their wits against Udinese after both sides finished fourth in their respective leagues last season.
Arsene Wenger's side may well have a significantly easier affair ahead of them in two weeks time than they would have at the end of last season after Udinese saw three key players leave the club this summer. Arsenal could yet have a number of high profile departures of their own on their hands, with the likes of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas both linked with moves elsewhere, but the Londoners will no doubt be favourites for the tie.
European Records
The Gunners will be confident of success in the qualifier, despite the tough draw, having won all 8 of their previous Champions League qualifiers. In those games Wenger's side have netted 21 goals and conceded just 2, suggesting that Udinese face an uphill struggle to reach the group stages.
To do so would only be the Italian side’s second appearance in the latter stages of Europe's elite competition since it's transformation from the old European Cup format. They last did so in 2005/06 by beating Sporting Lisbon in this stage of the qualifying 4-2 on aggregate. However, their time in the competition proved short lived, being drawn in the same group as Barcelona and failing to qualify on goal difference having ended tied on 7 points with Werder Bremen.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are extremely well travelled in the competition. Since the tournaments reformatting, qualifying for the group stages for the last 13 editions, first making an appearance in 1998/99. Only Manchester United have made the cut more times from England with 17, while the Gunners have played in the 6th most matches in the tournament of any club, with 129 to date compared to Udinese's 6.
Udinese
3 Reasons Why Arsenal's Task May be Simpler
Colombian Christian Zapata has left for Villarreal having been a key member of a solid Udinese back 3. His dominance in the air will be missed having won 72% of his aerial duels compared to other key defender Mehdi Benatia's 53%. He also made 8 clearances per game, more than any other defender, and had an exemplary pass accuracy of 84%.
Having signed for Napoli this summer, Gokhan Inler will leave a huge void in the Udinese midfield next season having ranked among the top 2 midfielder's at the club in 10 key categories last term. He led the way in passing for the side with 53.7 per game and going forward the Swiss scored more goals than any of his midfield counterparts with 3. His defensive contribution also came out on top of the Udinese midfielders having won 56% of his aerial duels, 2 interceptions per game and made 2.6 tackles per match.
Chilean Alexis Sanchez is undoubtedly the highest profile name to leave the Italian side this summer, setting sale for Barcelona in a big-money move. The young forward scored 12 goals and made 6 assists in 31 games last season. His 3.0 successful dribbles, 1.61 key passes and 1.9 shots per game show just how much of Udinese’s play depended on Sanchez as the chief orchestrator in behind the prolific Antonio Di Natale.
Key Udinese Players
In 24-year-old Mehdi Benatia, Udinese have managed to keep hold of arguably their most solid centre back. The Moroccan made a huge 3.6 tackles and 4.5 interceptions per game, along with 0.7 blocks a match. He also contributed with 3 goals at the other end of the field.
The experienced Italian finished as the top scorer in the Serie A last term with 28 goals at the grand old age of 33. With Udinese netting 65 times in the league, Di Natale netted 43% of his side’s goals- only Edinson Cavani scored a higher percentage of his side's strikes for Napoli (44%). Along with Inter's Smauel Eto'o he finished top of the WhoScored.com rankings in Italy with 7.64, picking up a handy 7 assists to boot. Having attempted 3.2 shots per game he also led the way in the Serie A, and the Italian international will be a real threat to Arsenal in the upcoming qualifier.
Arsenal
Gervinho Boost
The Gunners landmark signing thus far in the summer has been former Lille forward Gervinho. The Ivorian can play as a centre-forward or advanced winger and was a key player in the French side's Ligue 1 title winning campaign last term, netting 15 goals and setting up a further 10. The 24-year-old could be crucial to Arsene Wenger's team's success were they to lose big name stars this summer, and fares better than those touted with departures in terms of his figures from last season in a number of areas.
Compared to Nasri, who played in an advanced position from wide and centrally last term, Gervinho made 10 assists to the Frenchman's 1 and scored 15 goals to Nasri's 10. He also attempted more shots per game with 2.2 to 1.7 and more successful dribbles with 2.1 to 2.
Fabregas
With the first game of the two-leg tie being played at the Emirates on August 16, it remains to be seen as to whether 'captain fantastic' Cesc Fabregas will be at the club. Although Wenger is doing his best to ensure the side are ready for his departure with the likes of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey coming through, it is unavoidable that any gap left by the Spaniard would be a monumental one.
The 24-year-old picked up a WhoScored.com rating of 7.54 last season, behind only Robin van Persie for the club, who returned to fitness spectacularly, netting 18 goals in just 19 starts. Fabregas was relatively ineffective in front of goal last season, netting just 3 times in the league, though he did pick up a crucial 11 assists, making a magnificent 2.9 key passes per game.
Formational Differences
The two sides line-up very differently, with Arsenal's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation offering plenty of firepower in attack. This is something that Udinese will have to bare in mind, setting up with 3 centre-backs for much of last season, though the loss of Zapata could see them revert to a flat back four in order to thwart the Gunners attacks. In that case, wing-backs Mauricio Isla and Pablo Armero may have to do more defending than attacking, though the former’s attacking threat will prove vital after the sale of his compatriot Sanchez.
Arsenal are without former mainstay Gael Clichy after the left-back left for Man City, meaning youngster Kieran Gibbs is likely to be Wenger's preferred replacement. Gervinho could well line-up on the opposing flank to Theo Walcott, with Nasri or Fabregas, assuming they are fit and still at the club, in behind van Persie. Thomas Vermaelen's return to fitness will be crucial to the club in preventing top strikers from breaching their back-line, with the Belgian hoping to stop Di Natale early on in the season.
