WHEN the Champions League got under way back in September, few would have predicted Tottenham would get further than Arsenal.
But that’s the way it’s worked out, and as Harry Redknapp is being lauded after becoming the first English manager to take a team to the quarter-finals, Arsene Wenger is being questioned.
Some are going as far as to say he should move ‘upstairs’ or even leave the Gunners.
I think that’s an overreaction after losing to a very good side in Barcelona.
But I think you have to wonder about why Wenger made some of the team selections he did during the group stages.
Had they topped their section, the last 16 draw would have worked out differently, and Barcelona would have been avoided.
Tottenham, on the other hand, topped their group after most people said they would finish at the bottom, and they’ve continued to surprise.
Having played free-flowing football in victories over Inter Milan, Twente Enschede and Werder Bremen, they had to show the other side of their game in the second leg against AC Milan, digging deep to protect the led they worked so hard for over in the San Siro.
Now the loyal supporters are lapping up the revival of a fine European tradition and looking forward to the draw for the last eight, in which Spurs will hopefully be joined by Chelsea and Manchester United.
Across at Manchester City, eyebrows were raised after it was revealed that Mario Balotelli was replaced during the 2-0 Europa League defeat by Dynamo Kiev because he had suffered an allergic reaction – to grass.
That’s certainly a worrying affliction for a footballer!
City’s defeat was a disappointment, but I think the second leg could be very different.
