Arsenal v AS Roma Tomorrow, kick-off – 7.45pm Emirates Stadium, London – Live on Setanta Ireland and ITV 4.
European champions– Arsenal: Never (Runners-up in 2006). Roma: Never (Runners-up in 1984).
The gaffers– Arsène Wenger (59) and Luciano Spalletti (49)
When last we met– It was in the second group stage in the 2002-03 season, Arsenal winning 3-1 in Rome and drawing 1-1 in London. Roma captain Francesco Totti joined a long line of forwards to come off worse in a brush with Martin Keown, getting sent off after 22 minutes at Highbury after being judged to have struck him in the face. "The defender was a fantastic actor," said Roma manager Fabio Capello, who pointed to English hypocrisy about sportsmanship.
We meet again– Julio Baptista. nicknamed The Beast, spent a year on loan at Arsenal after a miserable time at Real Madrid, but apart from one night at Anfield, when he scored four goals in 44 minutes (and missed a penalty) in a League Cup game, he didn't do enough to convince Arsène Wenger he was worth buying.
He enjoyed his time in England, though, apart from the “savage tackling” and the lack of sun.
“The weather over here is killing me. We’ll get one day of sunshine for every 30 days of rain, and it is driving me to despair. My girlfriend and my mother are frightened about not seeing the sun in England,” he said at the time
The Brazilian joined Roma last August for €9 million.
- Mary Hannigan
