AMID growing political tension between the west and Russia, CSKA Moscow will travel to London to face Arsenal in the last eight of the UEFA Europa League. (April 5). It’s not quite a cold war climate, but the tie does act as a prelude to the forthcoming World Cup, with Russian and English fans coming up against each other as the politicians continue to posture and threaten each other.

CSKA Moscow are no strangers to politics, though, for they were the Soviet Army’s club in the days when Britain viewed anything coming out from behind the Iron Curtain with great suspicion. Football can certainly help diffuse tension, but the continued talk about boycotting World Cup 2018 also demonstrates the game can also be used as a political tool.

There’s still an air of mystery about the relative strength of Russian clubs, who are generally well-backed and able to pay their players well. Europe still awaits a genuine and sustained threat from a Russian club and Arsenal are marginal favourites to beat CSKA in the quarter-final over two legs.

CSKA have already met English opposition this season in the form of Manchester United in the group stage of the Champions League. United won 4-1 in Moscow and 2-1 at Old Trafford. CSKA reached the group stage after winning through the third qualifying round and play-off round, beating AEK Athens and Young Boys. In the group, their home form was not good, losing to Basel and Manchester United but they did beat Benfica. They finished third and gained entry to the last 32 of the Europa League where they accounted for Red Star Belgrade and Lyon on the way to the quarter-final.

Domestically, CSKA are trailing Moscow rivals Lokomotiv and Spartak and they’re eight points off top spot. They’re being chased by Krasnodar and Zenit St. Petersburg, but at the moment, they’re in the Champions League qualifying stage spot. They’ve lost five of their 22 Russian Premier League, three at their VEB stadium. They were recently beaten 3-0 at Spartak Moscow.

Home form seems to have been a little patchy this season. Crowds at the VEB average around 14,000 making the club the fifth best supported in Russia, but their attendances are way behind Zenit (44,000) and Spartak (29,000). When CSKA met Lyon in the last 16, the attendance was just under 14,000 but the visit of Arsenal to the VEB will surely attract closer to the 30,000 capacity. The stadium, named after the Russian bank, Vnesheconombank (formerly the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, USSR), saw its record attendance when Manchester United visited in September 2017.

CSKA, as mentioned, was previously the army club, but after the fall of the USSR, the club – which like its rivals was virtually bankrupt –  went into private ownership. Although the Ministry of Defence has a 25% stake, the club is 49% owned by British Bluecastle Enterprises and Russia’s AVO-Kapital (controlled by Bluecastle). The ultimate beneficiary of Bluecastle is Vadim Giner, the son of Yevgeny Giner, who is also the head of the Russian Football Union’s financial committee.  According to media reports, Giner senior is a friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. There were reports in 2017 that Abramovich’s son, Arkady, wanted to buy a stake in CSKA.

CSKA did come under the Abramovich influence in the early 21^st century. His company, Sibneft, was the lead sponsor of the club between 2004 and 2006. Abramovich sold his stake in the oil company to the Kremlin in 2005 for £ 7bn-plus. It is now part of the mighty Gazprom empire and CSKA’s principal sponsor is Russian power company Rosseti. They also list among their partners Russian Helicopters.

CSKA are not the force they were a few years ago due to financial issues that have affected much of Russian football. Its clubs rely on state backing and wealthy benefactors to an alarming degree – UEFA noted in 2017 that Russian clubs derive just 4% of their income from ticket sales and 5% from TV rights, the lowest among Europe’s top leagues. Moreover, CSKA were ranked the seventh most indebted club in Europe with debts of €240m. Little wonder that transfer budgets have been reduced in recent years.

CSKA don’t have the backing that Zenit and Spartak have, but in the period 2010 to 2016, the club’s rivalry dominated the Russian Premier League. CSKA, who had won the title three times between 2003 and 2006, won three further championships in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Zenit, who had won just one title before the arrival of big money, were champions in 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2015. In 2016-17, these fierce rivals were usurped by Spartak Moscow, who won the Premier with points to spare.

In between all this, CSKA and Zenit won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008 respectively. At the time, it was widely believed that Russian clubs were about to become a force, but it didn’t really materialise. Russian football has certainly declined, with the national team very anaemic and young players lacking the international experience they need to improve as they are reluctant to leave a league that has paid well – perhaps too well. Attendances have shown little in the way of growth in recent years and the average gate in the Premier is 12,000 which considering the size of the country (population 145 million) seems quite small.

One man who left Russia was Leonid Slutsky, the coach that led CSKA to three titles. He arrived in England, relatively unknown to many football fans, and picked up a job at Hull City. Slutsky’s style was often Mourinho-lite, but in Russia, it was very effective. However, his time in England didn’t last long and he’s now in the Netherlands.

CSKA’s current coach is Viktor Goncharenko who succeeded Slutsky in 2016, the son of a Belarusian engineer who died after the Chernobyl disaster. Goncharenko is considered to be one of the brightest managerial talents in Russian football. Although only 40, he has a decade of coaching under his belt, notably at BATE Borisov, where he won five Belarusian Premier titles.

CSKA’s line-up 2017-18

Goncharenko has a refreshing approach to some extent. When his team wins, the praise is directed to the players, but when they lose he is totally accountable. His style is not spectacular and is built on a strong defence and hard work. The current CSKA team often adopts a 3-5-2 formation with veteran goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev at the back. Akinfeev is the captain and has won over 100 caps for Russia. The team also includes the even more experienced Berezutski twins, Vasili and Aleksei (35 years old) and the imposing Swede Pontus Wernbloom. One of the players that the nation will be looking to in the summer is Alan Dzagoev, an impressive but injury-prone midfielder. The promising Aleksandr Golovin, a creative midfielder, was one of Russia’s few successes in the Confederations Cup last year.

CSKA’s Russian Premier League results 2017-18

Up front, the Brazilian Vitinho is CSKA’s leading scorer this season. The 24 year-old joined the club from CSKA in 2013 but rarely got a look-in when Slutsky was coach. Goncharenko has given him the chance to shine and this season has netted eight league goals in 22 games. CSKA can also call on Ahmed Musa, the Nigerian striker on loan from Leicester City.

Right now, CSKA are trying to ensure they maintain their place in the Champions League placings. They’re chasing Lokomotiv and Spartak but there’s still eight games to go. CSKA have to face Krasnodar at home and Zenit away, but they’ve already met Spartak and Lokomotiv twice. They may have too much ground to make up, but the Europa League is still up for grabs – the game at Arsenal will determine if  the Koni, “the horses” can end the season with silverware. It’s a tough field, though.