Their domestic exploits secured a return to the UEFA Champions League last season for the first time since the departure of iconic manager Arsene Wenger. Last term, they reached the quarterfinals before being beaten by Bayern Munich. This year, they are in the last eight once again, and they have the unenviable task of taking on reigning champions Real Madrid.
Online betting providers certainly feel like the task of knocking off Los Blancos could well be an impossible one. The latest Champions League odds from popular online betting sites currently price Real not just as a -190 favorite to progress to the semifinals, but also as a +350 third favorite to win a record-extending 15th title this season. But as history will show, The Gunners have been here before… and they have succeeded.
Years of Disappointment
Before 1998, the Gunners had only played in the European Cup twice, reaching the quarterfinal in 1972, and making a pretty disappointing second-round exit two decades later. They had success in both the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners Cup though, reaching three finals combined and winning one of them. Even so, those exploits were never replicated on the grandest stage.
Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal in 1996 as a relative unknown… but a mere two years later, he led his side to the title. That brought with it a return to the UEFA Champions League, and yet, the Gunners could never live up to expectations. They suffered back-to-back group stage eliminations in 1999 and 2000, before losing out to beaten finalists Valencia in the quarterfinals in 2001. In both 2002 and 2003, further group-stage exits were endured – before the bitterest defeat of them all in 2004.
That year, Arsenal were in the midst of their invincible run in the Premier League, becoming the first team in the league’s history to win the title without losing a single game. They made it through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League as well, and everyone thought they’d easily progress past rivals Chelsea. Unfortunately, Claudio Ranieri’s men had other ideas.
After a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, it was all to play for in the second leg at Highbury. The Gunners set about proving why they were Invincibles and duly took the lead on the stroke of halftime through Jose Antonio Reyes. Chelsea came roaring back though, equalizing six minutes after the break thanks to Frank Lampard’s goal. Wayne Bridge then netted a last-gasp winner to send the Blues through to the semifinals.
It was a case of what might have been for The Gunners. Had they defeated their rivals, chances are they would have won the tournament for the first time. They would have faced Monaco in the semifinals and Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto in the final, two teams that they would have been well-fancied to beat. The title could have been theirs.
Maiden Final Appearance and Becoming a Contender
The North London side wouldn’t have to wait long to put that disappointment behind them. In 2006, Arsenal had fallen out of Premier League contention after selling key players such as Patrick Vieira to Juventus. They were in a battle just to secure a spot in the top four and the Champions League the following year, but on the continental stage, they were a different beast entirely!
Wenger’s men topped their group without losing even one game, and got rewarded with a clash against a Real Madrid side at the peak of its Galacticos era. Los Blancos had superstars such as Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Roberto Carlos, and David Beckham, but it was the Gunners who progressed, thanks to captain Thierry Henry’s stunning solo goal in the Bernabeu. In the quarterfinals, they then beat Vieira’s Juventus, securing their spot in the final four for the first time.
Once there, Arsenal wouldn’t let the opportunity pass them by. They knocked off tournament debutants Villareal due to Jens Lehmann’s stunning last-gasp penalty save from Juan Roman Riquelme, sealing their maiden final appearance.
Not even an early Lehmann sending-off in the Paris showpiece could slow The Gunners down, and they duly took the lead in the French capital through Sol Campbell’s bullet header. But unfortunately, the numbers game caught up with them. Late strikes from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti broke the Gunners’ hearts, and they haven’t returned to the biggest game in club football in nearly two decades since.
Between 2008 and 2010, Arsenal would remain a powerful force, twice reaching the quarterfinals and a semifinal, although they were never able to replicate the heroics that took them to Paris.
Second Round Curse
Arsenal’s most testing time in the tournament came throughout the latter years under Wenger. Between 2011 and 2017, the club was eliminated in the Round of 16 for seven straight seasons. They were continually matched up with the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who combined to hand The Gunners five second-round exits between them. As well as those heavyweights, even upstarts such as Monaco got in on the act, shockingly eliminating the Londoners in 2015 in one of the lowest moments in the club’s continental history.
In 2017, after a 10-2 aggregate drubbing by Bayern, Arsenal’s time at the top level was over. They finished fifth in the Premier League that season, a result which saw them miss out on Champions League qualification for the first time since 1998. That performance saw Wenger leave his position as manager after over 20 years in the job, and the club wouldn’t qualify for the tournament for another five years.
