AC Milan v Arsenal – Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds – Champions League – 15 February 2012
Italian Serie A leaders AC Milan host English Premier League side Arsenal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. The match will take place at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Kickoff is scheduled for 14:45 EST (USA Eastern), 19:45 GMT (UK time), and 20:45 CET (Central Europe).
AC Milan v Arsenala TV Listings
The match will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (USA), ITV 1 (UK), Sky Sport (Germany/Italy), Sport TV1 (Portugal), SuperSport (Africa), C+ (France/Finland), Rogers Sportsnet (Canada), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East), Setanta Sports (Ireland), TV2 Sport (Denmark), Viasat (Sweden/Norway), Digi Sport (Hungary), TV6 (Estonia/Lithuania), RAI 2 (Italy), RTE Two (Ireland).
AC Milan v Arsenal Preview
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
“I have seen [that game - Tottenham's win against Milan], yes,” he said. “Milan had a lot of the ball and Tottenham caught them on the break at the end of the game.
“You never decide when you break, you break when you can. It was a game which was vastly dominated, especially in the second half, by Milan.
“We will not decide at the start of the game that we will sit in our half if we have to, like Tottenham did. We will do it and then try to catch them on the break.
“But at the start we will try to get out of our own half and try to get up there and play. Spurs won the game when they were dominated, but that is football today.”
“Of course you can make comparisons between the two leagues (EPL & Serie A). Let’s not forget that Napoli already knocked Man City out of the Champions League and we already knocked Udinese out.
“They are one of the better teams in the league. So yes, comparisons can be made after these games.”
Arsenal Squad
Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski, Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie, Yossi Benayoun, Andrey Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky, Alex Song, Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Laurent Koscielny, Francis Coquelin, Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna
AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri
“I have to evaluate the injured players, some have done a few workouts with the team, we have to check if they have 90 minutes in them. Tomorrow will be a game where we know the strength of Arsenal, who play good football based on team-work and individuals that enhance the team.
We’ll be on our guard in defence, it is not a one-off match, but over 180 minutes. Boateng? He was out for four weeks, it will be difficult for him to start but I could change my mind and start him. We’ll see. The same goes for Pato. But having them available as well as Abbiati and Nesta which is a good thing.
The month of February was not a great start for us, fortunately we won on Saturday. Yesterday’s visit from Barbara Berlusconi has confirmed the importance of this stage of the season, as we go towards the end of the season the games are increasingly important.
El Shaarawy? He’s doing very well, he is developing, he is a boy of 19 years and should be left to develop, he is a great finisher with great quality. He will become a regular in attack.
Offensively they (Arsenal) are very dangerous, but last year we deserved to beat Tottenham in the second leg and go through so I have a lot of faith in our future. Van Persie and Henry are great players but the collective unit is even more dangerous. Henry is a legend there and I’m sure he would like to leave in his second spell on a high. The team have a lot of pace, and exploit and space you concede them.
Team UCL Stats
| AC Milan | Arsenal | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Zlatan Ibrahimovic 4 | Robin Van Persie 3 |
| Assists | Robinho 2 | |
| Yellows | Mark Van Bommel 2 | Tomas Rosicky 2 |
| Reds | Alberto Aquilani 1 |
Upcoming UCL Fixtures
| AC Milan | Arsenal | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/15 | Arsenal | 2/15 | @AC Milan |
| 3/6 | @Arsenal | 3/6 | AC Milan |
AC Milan v Arsenal Prediction
AC Milan wins 2-1
AC Milan v Arsenal Betting Odds
AC Milan win – 1/1
Draw – 12/5
Arsenal win – 11/4
