Published: 29 August, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

FANS will be hoping Lady Luck is wearing an Arsenal shirt this afternoon (Thursday) when the Uefa Champions League draw takes place in Monaco.

This time around the competition is arguably harder than ever with Arsene Wenger’s side looking to avoid the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli.

The Gunners cruised into Europe’s premier competition for the 16th consecutive year on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce at the Emirates, completing a 5-0 win on aggregate.

It wasn’t all plan sailing, however, as forward Lukas Podolski was ruled out of action for at least three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury.

With two-goal hero Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere also picking up knocks, Wenger said, “We paid a heavy price on the injury front because we lost Podolski. He’s out for 21 days.”

With Spurs heading for the Emirates on Sunday Arsenal supporters will be glad to hear that Wilshere and Ramsey should both be fit to play.