Disarm Arsenal

Oleg Romantsev is confident in his team

Today the capital's Spartak is playing its last home match of the 2000 season. The strongest club in Russia will host London's Arsenal in the second group stage of the Champions League at the Luzhniki Stadium. The interest in the match is huge. Already two days before the game, not a single ticket was left at the stadium box office, and speculators' prices reached 2,000-2,500 rubles.

Arsenal arrived in Moscow just a day before the game, to which Spartak coach Oleg Romantsev remarked: “There is no point in hoping that the late arrival of the British will be to our advantage. You can be sure that the guests would fight like lions, even if they had to enter the field straight from the plane.” The charter with the British team on board landed at Sheremetyevo-2 airport at 16.50, but customs formalities delayed the players for at least another hour. However, this circumstance did not upset the French legionnaire of Arsenal Sylvain Wiltord: “I am sure that success will await us in Moscow and at least one goal against Spartak will be on my account.” Another “gunner” of French origin, Robert Perez, was less categorical: “I am very afraid of the Russian weather. We were promised that it would be warm in Moscow, but here it is snowing. This could mess things up for us." And Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, also, by the way, a Frenchman, did not look at all cheerful: “We have a very difficult match ahead of us. A lot will depend on the quality of the field, and now I can’t even roughly imagine the starting line-up for my team.” The Arsenal players and coach took advantage of the opportunity to try out the Luzhniki lawn just a few hours later, training on the main field of the Olympic Stadium.

The Spartak players were preparing for the match with Arsenal at the base in Tarasovka. “I don’t see any point in going to Luzhniki for training,” Romantsev noted. - The journey will take more than an hour in both directions. And I can imagine the state of the field there and give it a C grade. The Spartak coach was going to introduce his players to the peculiarities of the game of the London club only at the pre-match installation, an hour and a half before the game.

However, such a disdainful attitude towards the opponent can play a cruel joke on Spartak. After all, among other things, Romantsev believes that the group his team ended up in is “no stronger than the one from which Spartak has already left.” Perhaps the Russian coach is bluffing, or it is possible that he really believes that this time his team will make it to the next stage without any problems. However, we should not forget that in a number of League matches Spartak was simply lucky, and the supply of luck in football is never inexhaustible. Still, the “red-whites” have the right to hope for luck. “Arsenal has not been able to score for several matches both in the national championship and in Europe,” says Oleg Ivanovich. - It is clear that the British have problems with the composition. I think that someday they will “break through”, but I hope that not in a meeting with us.”

Andrey VDOVIN