Can Arsenal breach Iron Curtain?
The Cold War seems to have never ended for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, as he takes his young side to the Ukraine to play Dynamo Kiev tonight with a lamentable record against ex-Soviet Union teams in the Champions League. “In six Champions League trips to teams from the former Soviet Union, they have lost on all but one occasion and the 0-0 draw with Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2003-4 group stage was hardly a result to set the pulses racing,” reports the Guardian. “Ukraine has provided harsh lessons for Arsenal and the rain and brooding skies, not to mention the gridlocked rush-hour traffic that greeted their arrival in the capital city yesterday, might have stirred uncomfortable memories for the manager Arsène Wenger. ‘If you don’t prepare well mentally,’ said Wenger, ‘you are surprised by the level of commitment that you get in Russia and Ukraine. It is a bit destabilising. But I believe we can cope better now.
