Just when they thought they had seen the back of Harry Kane, Arsenal were told that the goalscorer, who has always enjoyed scoring against them, is driving back into town.
No one has scored more goals for Tottenham against Arsenal than the England captain and now he returns for another try with another team in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The final flourish of the Champions League as we know it sent Kane back to North London with a Bayern Munich team that has made a habit of humiliating Arsenal in the competition and whetted the English appetite for a battle between the two most exciting has sparked the country’s young talents into the competition. last eight tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
And the world’s greatest player, Kylian Mbappé, took on Barcelona in what could be the first of many tumultuous battles if, as expected, the PSG star joins Real Madrid this summer.
As the names of the clubs were drawn, followed by one sigh after another, it felt like fantasy football. It felt like the football world would pause for nine days in April to sit back and enjoy the feast laid out before it.
Harry Kane will take on his old rivals Arsenal in the next round of the Champions League
Manchester City will once again have the opportunity to showcase its talents against Real Madrid
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will lead his side in a last-eight clash against Bayern Munich
A reorganization of the competition next season will see the group stage replaced by a single competition with 36 teams, with each team playing eight matches before the top teams are separated by a seeding system in the knockout stages.
The idea of Real versus City in the last eight will be outdated next year. The thrill of unpredictability that yesterday’s draw brought, which saw perhaps the top four teams in the league all in one half of the competition, will be gone.
Despite the imbalance – or perhaps because of it – it was hard to avoid the conclusion that the latest iteration of the old-school 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 greatest cup competition in the world.
And the thrill of this year’s Champions League draw is especially true for fans of the English clubs, who are also pondering the tantalizing prospect of a semi-final between City and Arsenal if both teams progress.
City vs Real Madrid is the tie of the round. Many will say it might as well be the final and from that will emerge the winner of the Champions League. City, the holders, are the team to beat and, partly because they rejected Madrid so emphatically last season, they will be the favorites to beat Carlo Ancelotti’s side as they seek an astonishing repeat of their Treble.
But Madrid can put up a stronger fight than last season, not least because they have Jude Bellingham in their ranks, who has made such a great impression at the Bernabeu since signing from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
Bellingham has made as good a start as any player can get in Madrid, including scoring two goals against Barcelona at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Montjuic in his first appearance in El Clasico last October.
His winner, in a 2-1 victory, came in stoppage time at the temporary home of Madrid’s biggest rivals.
Jude Bellingham’s first taste of Champions League quarter-finals with Real Madrid pits him against Man City
If Bellingham has established himself as Madrid’s big player, the draw will pit him against Phil Foden, his England teammate, at a time when Foden’s progress has accelerated to a point where he too is considered one of the key influences . at a club that possesses such a wealth of attacking talent.
But if City-Madrid is the favorite of the bunch, there is also something wonderfully appealing about Arsenal versus Bayern.
Most obviously, there is the prospect of Kane’s return to north London to renew his acquaintance with Gunners fans who grew wary of facing him in the derbies against Spurs.
Kane holds the all-time record for goals in those derbies with 14 and with Bayern likely to miss out on the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen, the England captain will be desperate for victory against his old foe to realize his dream. to make his first trophy the biggest club trophy of them all.
That old photo of Kane in an Arsenal shirt as a child is of course being recycled again, but for Mikel Arteta’s team it was a black and white confirmation that they have rejoined the elite of European football.
Kylian Mbappe will face Barcelona for what could be the first of many tumultuous battles if he eventually joins Real Madrid
Robert Lewandowski
They will also have to get used to the idea that the superiority of the Premier League, and the fact that they are at the top of it, means that they are considered one of the favorites to win the competition.
“We are now facing one of the best teams in Europe,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel when told about the draw. ‘They have been playing consistently at the highest level for two years. They are a homogeneous and dangerous team and they score a lot of goals. But we will be ready. We know our qualities.’
Arsenal also knows the qualities of Bayern. Bayern beat them 10-2 on aggregate the last time they met, in 2017. In fact, they have beaten them 5-1 each of the last three times the two clubs have faced each other.
It’s safe to say Bayern have no chance of making it four. Arsenal is no longer a lamb to the slaughter. Even Kane will know the odds will be against him this time when he heads to the Emirates.