Just when they thought they had seen the back of Harry Kane, Arsenal were told that the goal killer who has always loved scoring against them would be returning to town.
Nobody has scored more goals against Arsenal with Tottenham than the England captain and now he returns to try it with another team in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The final flourish of the Champions League as we know it sent Kane back to north London with a Bayern Munich side who have a habit of humiliating Arsenal in the competition and whetted the English appetite for a battle between the two young talents most exciting in the country. Round of 16 tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
And he pitted the world’s best player, Kylian Mbappé, against Barcelona in what could be the first of many tumultuous battles if, as expected, the PSG star joins Real Madrid in the summer.
As the club names were drawn, followed by one sigh after another, it felt like fantasy football. It seemed as if, for nine days in April, the football world stopped to sit back and enjoy the feast that would be offered before it.
Harry Kane will face his old rivals Arsenal in the next round of the Champions League
Manchester City will once again have the opportunity to demonstrate their talent against Real Madrid
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will lead his team into the round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich.
A shake-up of the competition next season means the group stage will be replaced by a single 36-team league where each team plays eight games before the top teams are separated by a qualifying system in the knockout stages.
The idea of Real versus City in the quarter-finals will be obsolete next year. The thrill of unpredictability that came with yesterday’s draw, with arguably the four best teams in the competition in the middle of the draw, will disappear.
Despite the imbalance, or perhaps because of it, it was hard to avoid the conclusion that the latest version of the old format saved the best for last. That’s the beauty of a random draw. It’s what has given the FA Cup third round its magic for so long. It is what has made the FA Cup the most important cup competition in the world.
And the excitement of this year’s Champions League lottery applies particularly to fans of English clubs, who also entertain the tantalizing prospect of a semi-final between City and Arsenal if both teams advance.
City-Real Madrid is the tie of the day. Many will say that it could well be the final and that the winner of the Champions League will emerge from it. City, the reigning champions, are the team to beat and, partly because they saw off Madrid so emphatically last season, will be the favorites to beat Carlo Ancelotti’s side as they seek a stunning repeat of their treble.
But Madrid can put up a tougher fight than last season, not least because they have in their ranks Jude Bellingham, who has made a stellar impression at the Bernabeu since being signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Bellingham has had as good a start to life in Madrid as any player could, including two goals against Barcelona at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuic in his first El Clásico appearance last October.
His winning goal, 2-1, came in stoppage time at the temporary home of Madrid’s biggest rival.
Jude Bellingham’s first experience in the Champions League quarterfinals with Real Madrid pits him against Man City
If Bellingham has established himself as Madrid’s star player, then the tie will pit him against Phil Foden, his England team-mate, at a time when Foden’s progress has accelerated to the point where he too is considered a of the main influences. in a club that has so much offensive talent.
But if City-Madrid is the pick of the bunch, there’s also something deliciously appealing about Arsenal-Bayern.
Most obvious is the prospect of Kane’s return to north London to renew his relationship with Gunners fans who feared facing him in derbies against Spurs.
Kane holds the all-time record for goals in such derbies with 14 and, with Bayern likely to miss out on the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen, the England captain will be desperate to beat his old enemy to make his dream come true. . to make his first trophy the biggest club trophy of all.
That old image of Kane in the Arsenal shirt when he was a child is obviously being recycled again, but for Mikel Arteta’s team it was confirmation in black and white that they have rejoined the elite of European football.
Kylian Mbappé will face Barcelona in what could be the first of many tumultuous battles if he ends up joining Real Madrid.
Robert Lewandowski
They will also have to get used to the idea that the Premier League’s pre-eminence, and being at the top, means they are considered one of the favorites to win the competition.
“Now we are facing one of the best teams in Europe,” Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said when informed of the draw. “They have been playing consistently at the highest level for two years. They are a homogeneous, dangerous team, they score a lot of goals. We’ll be ready though. We know our qualities.’
Arsenal also know Bayern’s qualities. Bayern beat them 10-2 on aggregate the last time they met, in 2017. In fact, they beat them 5-1 on each of the last three occasions the two clubs met.
It is safe to say that Bayern has no chance of reaching fourth place. Arsenal are no longer lambs to the slaughter. Even Kane will know that this time, the odds will be against him when he leaves the Emirates.