UEFA Champions League: Notes from Matchday 4 - Bayern clinch qualification and Arsenal win in Germany

Arsenal have the winning habit

(R) Aaron Ramsey celebrates scoring Arsenal’s goal with (L) Mesut Ozil during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal at Signal Iduna Park

There was a time not too long ago when Arsenal were deemed flaky and coming up short in the big games. In two massive games on the bounce, the current squad has displayed none of that flakiness, going on to prove that this may just be a very special season unfolding at the Emirates.

The Gunners have acquired the winning habit, a characteristic often referenced with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, for being able to come through matches even when not playing well.

Arsenal withstood a succession of Dortmund attacks in the opening hour of their match against last year’s finalists, before making a crucial break to open the scoring themselves against the run of play.

Per Mertesacker was immense for Arsenal as they managed to hold down the fort despite Robert Lewandowski, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and the rest of the Dortmund side repeatedly knocking on the doors.

Some may say that Arsenal got lucky, but hey, if you don’t take your chances then your opponent will. And Arsenal did just that. The goal in fact acted as a switch as it suddenly brought belief into the entire side waking up the likes of Mesut Özil into action.

A third impressive win against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the weekend, will make it really hard to dissociate talks of a title from ArseneWenger’s unit.

Roberto Jimenez Gago’s monster performance

Olympiacos’ Greek midfielder Giannis Maniatis celebrates with goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez after winning the UEFA Champions League Group C football match Olympiacos vs Benfica at the Karaiskaki stadium in Athens

Most people, including this writer, did not know about Roberto Jimenez Gago. The only Gago well-known previously was the Argentine midfielder who plied his trade for a while at Real Madrid.

Roberto of Olympiacos stole the show on Matchday four with his standout performance between the posts. He made seven brilliant saves as his side withstood an absolute onslaught from Portuguese side Benfica to emerge 1-0 victors at home and establish a three-point gap to Benfica in the fight for second place in the group.

Ace marksman Kostas Mitroglou has been the biggest talking point coming out of Olympiacos all season, but it was Roberto’s turn on Matchday four.

Manchester United could still not qualify

Ryan Giggs and Phil Jones of Manchester United applaud the travelling Manchester United fans at the end of the UEFA Champions League Group A match between Real Sociedad and Manchester United at Estadio Anoeta

Where Arsenal earned a memorable victory over Dortmund in Germany, their next opponents in the league, Manchester United, endured a frustrating night at Real Sociedad. David Moyes’ side should have returned with three points as they spurned numerous chances including a missed penalty from Robin van Persie, and it could come back to haunt them.

United may be leading the group, but qualification is in no way secure, as they have to face Shakhtar and Bayer Leverkusen in their last two games, no easy task with the form Moyes’ team are in currently, starting with a trip to Leverkusen on the next matchday. It does seem likely that the fate of the group will come down to final day action when they host Shakhtar and Leverkusen travel to Sociedad.

Bale-Ronaldo tandem shaping up

Gareth Bale (L) of Real Madrid celebrates with Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring their team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group B match between Juventus and Real Madrid at Juventus Arena in Turin, Italy

Money can’t guarantee you success, but it sure can help in trying to set up victories for your team. Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo played a key role in determining Madrid’s fortunes on the pitch for the third game running. Both of them got on the score-sheet as Real came away from Turin with a point and dented Juve’s hopes of progressing.

Their defence is porous, midfield disjointed and out of tune, but their forward line led by Ronaldo and Bale is beginning to strike a lovely chord and looks set to take its place amongst the most dangerous attacking trios in Europe at the moment.

The unflappable, always flopping Ashley Young

Ashley Young

In addition to their current worries, the form (or diving form) rather of their winger Ashley Young continues to be a source of constant embarrassment and distraction. The winger’s latest exploits in attaining a penalty for his side did not go down too well with both United and opposition fans alike queuing up to take their shot at Young.

A lot of pundits and former players criticized him, while he received some support from a few sections such as former referee Graham Poll who opined that the ref had indeed got it right as there was a legitimate foul.

One thing’s for sure, Young’s penchant for diving have placed him on par with Britain’s diving champ Tom Daley and continues to be a headache David Moyes and United could well do without.

Barca’s newest recruit Neymar, too did his bit to get on the scoreboard for dives employed and unlike United’s, his penalty was duly converted by one Lionel Messi.