Hammer blow
The UEFA Champions League, though, cannot be won on obduracy alone. Not only will Juve need to breach the meanest backline in the competition this season at least twice, but they need to wrest possession from an Arsenal midfield that is comfortable on the ball and eke out chances of their own. It is for this reason that Alessandro Del Piero is so important to the club's cause. As if three suspensions were not punishment enough, "Pinturicchio's" current injury, should he fail a fitness test today, could prove a hammer blow to the Italian champions' prospects of qualifying for the last four.
Immediate impact
While Juve's captain has not been a regular starter this season, his contribution to his side's double assault on the league and Europe has nevertheless been telling. Del Piero has scored 15 goals in Italy this season plus three in the UEFA Champions League, and his ability to conjure goals for others is of worldwide renown. With Juventus trailing Werder Bremen in the first leg of the last round, the 31-year-old made an immediate impact from the bench, spreading panic through the home defence with his penetrating runs and playing a part in both of the away goals that eventually sent his side through to the last eight.
Del Piero worry
Capello probably would not have started Del Piero at Arsenal last week, preferring to deploy Zlatan Ibrahimović alongside David Trezeguet; but the coach would dearly loved to have turned to the captain when the tide turned against Juve. A thigh strain had deprived the two-times competition winners of their inspiration and, now, with Ibrahimović struggling to rediscover his creative best and Camoranesi out, fans of the Italian side will be praying Del Piero is fit by Wednesday.