As the Champions League reaches its most critical month, the Premier League is preparing to send its four titans into the breach. However, we know that only one can take the spoils, the question is - who?

Our search for the answer to that brings us firstly to Arsenal. Traditionally, the Gunners have struggled in Europe's premier competition despite being the only London club to grace the tournament's final stage. They have emphasised the word "inconsistent" over the last few years, enjoying both the highs of reaching the final against prestigious Euro-package Barcelona and the lows of being eliminated by a decidedly out-of-depth PSV in their most recent attempt.

However, this year Arsenal have shown nothing but positives in destroying everything that has dared to step before them - enjoying an utterly fantastic group stage passage that saw them demolish Slavia Prague. Even when Arsenal have failed, most notably in their below-average performance that saw them lose 3-1 to Sevilla in their final group match, it seems no harm can be done to them as this turned out to be a cleverly disguised blessing.

'With Arsenal's shortcomings in depth coupled with a crisis of priorities, Liverpool hold the advantage and victory would provide the momentum for a final push to Moscow'


Being drawn against AC Milan, the reigning champions, Arsenal's kids knew that only an exact re-enactment of the Michael Caine classic The Italian Job would do - and they duly delivered, overcoming Milan veterans 2-0 on aggregate.

But how does this translate to what they still have in store for us? Unfortunately, I'm afraid the fairytale may not have a happy ending. Arsenal's lack of depth has seen their Premier League form badly suffer, and as the fixtures look set to pile up the outcome doesn't look good. Arsene Wenger may be forced into prioritising between the Premier League and Champions League. If the situation becomes that dire, there isn't a soul in North London that could see the Frenchman picking European success over domestic domination.

So next in our search, we black-cab it over the Stamford Bridge, home of Avram Grant's Chelsea. Now, we need look back only a few seasons in the Blues' European exploits to see tales of injustice and heartbreak. Gracing the latter stages of the tournament year after year, Roman's millions have given the team an inarguable pedigree in Europe that has seen them reach two semi-finals - both ending in heartache at the hands of Rafa Benitez's Liverpool.