Arsenal stand on the brink of Champions League elimination tonight knowing anything less than a win (and a win for Bayern over Olympiacos) will see the relegated to the Europa League …. or worse.
The Gunners have only won one of their last 5 games in all competitions, losing three and drawing one, incurring a whole host of injuries along the way. Make no bones about it, this is a vital point of the season for Arsene Wenger and his side.
Zagreb beat Arsenal in the reverse fixture earlier in the season so we know we have to take them extremely serious, three points is the be all and end all and we need to come out of the traps, injury will dictate a lot of the team selection but our players are more than capable of doing the job … as long as the right Arsenal shows up.
Vital Quotes:
Mertesacker – ‘We want to remain in the competition for sure, it has been difficult for us due to our results and our performances but there is still a chance for us and we want to take it seriously. We beat one of the best teams in Europe at home (Bayern) so let’s put that in our minds, be confident and put in a performance.’
Mamic – ‘It is a surprise for me to see Arsenal so low, with only three points, I expected them and Bayern to lead the group.’
Arsenal Team News:
Arsenal go into the game without Wilshere, Welbeck, Walcott, The Ox, Francis Coquelin, Mikel Arteta and Rosicky.
Aaron Ramsey is fit but could be short on match sharpness.
Player to watch: Mathieu Flamini
Completely ignoring Arsene Wenger’s suggestion that he could play Calum Chambers could play the defensive midfield role tonight, Flamini will go into the match as 3rd choice DM.
Flamini proved against Spurs earlier this season that on his day he can do a job, but his propensity to be a tad rash could be costly in this important fixture.
Dinamo Zagreb Team News:
Josip Pivaric will be missing through suspension after getting sent off in the last round of fixtures whilst Arijan Ademi will be missing for around 200 games after being banned for 4 years for being a filthy drugs cheat.
Player to watch: All Of Them
This is once again a bit of a kop out as I don’t know enough about their players to accurately gauge which of them could be the most potent of threats, though in a match of this magnitude we really need to pay special attention to them all.
Match Facts & Stats
Only two teams (Maccabi Tel Aviv and BATE) have conceded more goals in the CL this season than Arsenal following the drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich.
Zagreb have conceded the most goals in the last 15 minutes of the their CL games this season whilst Arsenal have scored the most.
Arsenal have not won consecutive Champions League homes games since 2012.
Match Prediction:
I see Arsenal actually bouncing back well tonight with a 3-1 win. Giroud, Sanchez and Ozi to score.
Next Fixtures:
Sun 29th Nov 16.15 Norwich City v
Arsenal