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Well hello there dear readers, First of all, I would like to pass my gratitude to Gus Worth, for his amazing work during the last 5 years. As he decided to take a break from his blog, it is I who will provide you with some interesting facts and stories using the language of Shakespeare. The name of this series is dedicated to Nicolas Jover, who made The Arsenal a dangerous force in the penalty box from set pieces. Even though some fans and pundits say that we look more like Tony Pulis’s Stoke City with the long throw-ins etc. All jokes aside, the name just sounds fun and I’ll try to make it as impactful as our goals from set pieces. For my first article I’ve decided to take a look at this year’s opposition in the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League. As you already know, Arsenal drew the likes of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan from Pot 1, Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge from Pot 2, Olympiacos and Slavia Praha from Pot 3, and Athletic Bilbao and Kairat Almaty from Pot 4. That gives us 8 exciting games to be played from the 16th of September until the 28th of January 2026. I’ll break the teams into home and away fixtures. So let’s begin with the away destinations first. Away games Athletic Bilbao: No need for introductions here, as the Basque club is already well known with players like Inaki and Nico Williams (the wet dream of lots of Arsenal fans). Playing their home games at the Estadio San Mames (who got the “priviledge” to host the most boring Europa League final in the middle of May in which the small club from Middlesex ended their trophy drought) in Bilbao, the largest city of the famous Basque Country. To be fair and honest with you dear readers, when we played our pre-season games against Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, I had the initial thought that we will probably face one of these two teams in the Champions League this season, regardless of that being at home or away. Looks like my intuition was right this time. As Bilbao is an interesting away destination and quite frankly a new one for our Away BoyZ, here are a few words from our new Chairman and member of the aforementioned group, Bobby Baychev: “For me personally, San Sebastián (Donostia) and Bilbao have been a dream postponed for over a decade. Now, the chance to see my favourite team play there is the perfect excuse to make it happen. The Basque Country is a world of its own—a mix of subcultures and historical influences: Vascones, Visigoths, Franks, and Oscans. Its culinary scene is unmatched—from pintxos bars to the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita, including three restaurants with three stars each. The clash between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad is more than a football match—it's an ideological duel. San Mamés, mythical and thunderous, recently hosted the ill-fated Europa League final. And the city itself—with the legendary Guggenheim Museum, also found only in New York, Venice, and Abu Dhabi—further enhances the feeling of a special trip.” Slavia Prague: One of the most awaited destinations for an away trip in recent years. I will not talk about the city of Prague as it is already very popular. We last faced the Czech champions in the quarterfinals of the 2020/21 Europa League. A 1-1 draw in London following a late drama as former Gunner, Nico Pepe scored in the 86th minute to give us the lead, but Tomas Holes right at the end managed to secure the vital draw for the Czech side with all to play for in Prague. However there was pretty much no opposition in the away fixture as Arsenal scored three quick fire goals before the 25th minute to secure their place in the semi finals, and eventually added a fourth one in the second half to make it 5:1 on aggregate from both games. In the Champions League both teams found themselves in one group in the 2007/08 season. Arsenal demolished the Czech side 7-0 in London in matchweek 3, while the reverse fixture in matchweek 4 ended in a goalless draw. Here are a few words from Bobby on this away game: “Golden Prague—a city of majestic architecture, legendary beer, and a constant flow of tourists. Our last visit here was during the dark days of the pandemic, so this time I expect a surge in interest—especially from English fans, who will far outnumber the fewer than 1,000 official away tickets. I also expect a strong Bulgarian presence, most likely enjoying the game in the warm atmosphere of one of Prague’s many pubs.” Club Brugge: Well, this one will be a first timer. Arsenal have faced Belgian opposition before, but we have never played against Club Brugge. If you are not aware of their recent performances, the team has won 4 of the last 6 Belgian First Division titles including 3 consecutive from 2019-20 until 2021-22. Former Sunderland and Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has been ever present since joining the club in 2019, playing almost 300 games in all competitions. However the Belgians have a different talisman in their captain Hans Vanaken who is playing his 11th season at the club. In this period the midfielder has over 500 games in all comps and 143 goals next to his name. Given the fact that the game will be played in the middle of December, when the weather in Belgium can be a bit funny the Away BoyZ are in for a treat. Here are Bobby’s thoughts about this destination: “Bruges (or Brugge)—a small but magical city, with architecture and canals reminiscent of Venice and Amsterdam. Thanks to convenient transport connections from Bulgaria, it has a bit of a notoriously bad reputation in its outskirts from our fellow compatriots. Still, that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the Christmas lights and markets, the unmatched Belgian beer, and the magic of the Xmas season. And if the city enchants you—come back again in the summer to see it in a whole new light. Due to the stadium's small capacity and away fans allocation, many will probably watch the match from a local pub, shoulder to shoulder with the English fans arriving via short trip with the Eurostar.” Inter Milan: Same as Athletic Bilbao, there is no need to introduce the 20 time Italian champions and finalists in 2 of the last 3 editions of the Champions League. Even though they lost both finals conceding six goals and scoring the grand total of none. Less than four months ago they were completely demolished by Paris Saint Germain in Munich which led to the departure of head coach Simone Inzaghi. The Nerrazurri tried to appoint former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas as their new head coach, but their approaches were cut short following a decision from the president of Como. After the deal collapsed, Inter quickly appointed former player Christian Chivu as their new head coach. A quiet transfer window followed with no major additions to the club. Last season the two teams played again in the League phase with Inter securing a 1-0 win in the fourth week. We had quite the group in Milan and the biggest highlight of the night was the opportunity to meet the wife of Gabriel. She even got a small gift from our boys. In the history of the tournament we will always remember that iconic game at the Giuseppe Meaza in November 2003, when Thierry Henry did whatever he wanted and The Arsenal won 5-1. Of course we will finish this section with some words from Bobby: “The iconic stadium and the hypnotic flow of people winding through its tower spirals are enough to make you crave the experience again. And if you add the ultra-popular, originally Florentine focaccias from All’Antico Vinaio, the vibe of Via Casale filled with away fans, and the photogenic Duomo—there’s no doubt Milan always deserves a second chance.” Home games Olympiacos: There are 3 certain things in life - death, taxes and Arsenal playing against Olympiacos in Europe. This will be the 13th time the two teams face each other in the Champions and Europa League respectively. Ironically in the previous 12 games there are no draws. 6 wins for Arsenal and 6 wins for Olympiacos. The last meeting between the two sides was in the Round of 16 in the 2020-21 Europa League season. A 3-1 away win in Piraeus was enough for Arsenal to progress to the quarter finals even though we lost the reverse fixture in London by 1-0 and had to be nervous until the final whistle. We as a fan club had memorable trips to Athens for the games over the years, with the highlight being held right before Covid hit us in 2020. On that certain day while walking around next to the Acropolis, a few of our members of the famous Varna branch, got the chance to meet and take a photo with the one and only Ian Wright Wright Wright. A truly iconic moment that these guys will cherish for the rest of their lives. Atletico Madrid: Another team that needs no introduction. Cholo Simeone’s side have been ever present in the Champions League for the last 10+ years. However the only official games between Arsenal and Atletico have been in the semi finals of the 2017-18 Europa League. A 1-1 draw at the Emirates where the Madrid side was left with 10 men on the field after two quick yellow cards for Sime Vrsaljko in the opening 10 minutes of the game left everything to be decided in Madrid. Right there in the 12-th minute, the Arsenal captain at the time Laurent Koscielny, pulled his hamstring in the 12th minute and was furious as that not only meant that he won’t be able to help the Gunners to reach the final in Lyon, but also that he will miss the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which ironically France won. Back in the game a Diego Costa goal in the first half stoppage time was enough for Atletico to win the tie and go on to the final, where they’ve managed to win their third Europa League title after beating Marseille 3-0. Seven years after those games a lot of things have changed. Atletico tend to play a bit more open football nowadays and with a handfull of quality signings in the summer from both clubs the tactical war between Arteta and Cholo will be huge. Which can guarantee us a super game in the middle of October. Bayern Munich: If I can quote the famous protagonist from GTA San Andreas, Carl “CJ” Jonhson - Ah sh*t, here we go again. Now let’s address the elephant in the room. It was not so long ago that we faced the German champs in the quarter finals in the Champions League, where they managed to beat us with a narrow 3-2 win on aggregate. And we all know that was only because it was our first season back in the CL after 7 long years, plus the lack of experience in the team. Now as I already mentioned things are quite different and I am pretty sure that the time for a slight payback for those humiliating results from the past has come. The fact that this game is sandwiched between the North London derby and another London showdown against Chelsea at the end of November, makes it even more interesting. We can only hope that many of our members can be present at the Emirates for this match, while we leave the bigger job in the hands of our players. Kairat Almaty: Here is something new for an European opposition. The team from the former capital city of Kazakhstan made a surprise in the playoff round after eliminating Celtic on penalties to secure their first ever participation in the League phase of the Champions League. While we won’t have the chance to travel closely to the Chinese border this time around, the Kazakh team will be our final opponents in matchweek 8. In addition to that, Kairat also have a gem of a player to watch in teenager Dastan Satpayev, who will make a switch to the Premier League next summer after agreeing a deal with Chelsea. So far the 17 year old has scored 12 goals in 30 games this season in all competitions. I will finish the part for Kairat with a fun fact. The football season in Kazakhstan is being played from March through October, and the team from Almaty currently have only 4 more league games to play as they stand on level terms with Astana in the battle for first place. However, their last league game is scheduled to be played right after matchweek 3 in mid October, when they host Pafos from Cyprus, which means that Kairat will only have their 5 remaining Champions League games to train for after the end of the season. With the final rows of this article, I would like to advise you to give frequent feedback about every new post as criticism and suggestions are always welcomed. Until next week ladies and gentlemen. Dave Hardy

Matches left Newcastle -Liverpool/Spurs League Cup 2? League - Leicester, West Ham, Forest, Man U, Chelsea, Fulham, Everton, Brentford, Ipswich, Palace, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton 14 Champions League 7? Total 23 An impossible dream? So, we are still in 3 trophies. Scramble a win over Newcastle and we are one game away from the League Cup, possibly against the Spuds. If that happens, and the Spuds lose, they will be devastated beyond words. We will be disappointed if we lose, but accept it and move on. I reckon that Spurs would prefer not to get us because we might beat them and they won’t be able to handle that. They will know on Thursday whether we have beaten Newcastle. Will their fans cheer Liverpool? Will they be singing You’ll never walk alone and The Fields of Anfield Road? Will Ange Postecoglou spontaneously combust as his famous talk of always winning a trophy in his second year is not even wanted by the fans? Will he walk into the crowd and start beating up the fans who are cheering for Liverpool? Cheer up Postecoglou Strangely we have never faced the Spuds in either the FA Cup or the League Cup final. Probably we won’t this season either. But you never know. Would that do us? Winning the League Cup by beating the Spuds and qualifying for the Champions League? For lots of fans no. Expectations are higher now. For me, with the injuries we have had, and bad luck in decisions, I would take that and look forward to next year, hopefully with a top notch striker in place , whether emerging from our own ranks ( e.g, Havertz not only getting into great positions but actually scoring), or we buy in a great one finally. The first cup gives us strength 2 matches will give us the League Cup. It might help us with stress, knowing we have a cup in the bag. And we would have a happiness inducing win over Liverpool as we fight them on the final 2 fronts or seeing the Spuds crying helplessly at Wembley as their worst nightmare happens. We will remember and sing about that forever. We owe them a tanking It is only 2 wins after all. Not an impossible task. We have 14 matches left in the league. The list is above. Winning the league is probably impossible without beating Liverpool at Anfield. We are 6 points behind now and hoping for an Everton victory in the game in hand. We can’t afford to drop any points and we have a massive task to win the league. It will go down as one of our greatest ever if we somehow manage it. I am not sure if even our biggest optimists believe we can do it. However, we are above all these teams except Liverpool at the moment so it is possible. They do have to go through a bad spell and they have been lucky in many matches. Bournemouth outplayed them for quite a bit of the match on Saturday but came out 2 goals behind. This pattern was the same last year under Klopp but when they started to lose, they dropped like a stone. Will it happen again? We have to stay in touch and hope. Big Ears is the trophy I want On to the one trophy I have never experienced – the Champions League. It is my dream and this year looks more likely than most. Big teams will go out in the playoffs, and Liverpool have been the best team so far. I would feel we have a good chance against them over one or two legs as long as we have a strong team. Saka should be back. We have seven matches to play to win it. It is never going to be easy. Big Ears would look very nice in our trophy room Man City face Real Madrid and honestly I would prefer to play City as their confidence is not too good at the moment. Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Juventus make up the rest of the Champions League royalty who might just go out. Throw in PSG and it could be a strange looking final 16 this year. We did beat PSG very comfortably at the Emirates earlier on. We mustn’t fear anyone Can we say that there is nothing to fear? In comparison to other seasons, less so. If all goes well for us we can beat anyone. Our defence, at full strength, is very strong. We don’t get tankings. A good end to the season with injuries is crucial. We could win enough of these 7 matches to finally march up the steps in Munich as winners. We have to go there and win That would make me the happiest Irish fan ever. No longer would we be second class. We would have a new trophy to sing about. Arteta would become an Arsenal great. Would I take that over the league? In a heartbeat if you offered that now. Liverpool look strong for the title anyway. and even winning all our matches doesn’t stop them winning the league as that only gives us 3 points against them. We don’t even have to win all our Champions League matches to lift the trophy. Dubai gives us power? That is what is left now, maybe 2 matches in the League Cup. Maybe 7 in the Champions League and definitely 14 in the Premier League. Win them all and we might just get a treble. 23 matches for immortality. Will Dubai perform another miracle? Looking at it from a February perspective it is hard to feel confident. But our first step is Newcastle. We are still in 3, and I would prefer our players to believe we can win all. And if it turns out to be an Arsenal Spuds final and we win it as our only trophy this year it will be truly great fun to see the poor Spuds fans streaming out from Wembley knowing their team are beaten. We will never forget that. Beating them in a final would be incredible Oh, and by the way, did I ever say that Myles Lewis Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri are strong little fuckers?