It's a big game for us tonight as we face the current German champions again in the Champions League. We were a bit lucky to come away with a point from Dortmund (though, you may well argue that we were also extremely unlucky to concede via a wonder goal in the 89th minute).
Dortmund have had a similar start to the season as us, and they have notched up six consecutive wins in the German Bundesliga (we are on a 5 win streak), which also includes a win over German giants Bayern Munich last weekend. I happened to watch the game out of interest as well as anticipation and they really stood out as a hard working, pressing team much in the mould of Barcelona. They press from the front and they like to squeeze players looking for a pass. It will be a big test for our defenders and our deeper lying midfielders tonight and I hope Arsene has a plan to counter Borussia's gameplay.
In terms of results, we need a win to guarantee progress from the group. While that is surely desirable, it is not going to be an easy task. We need to stay disciplined from the first minute to the last. Also, we must be defensively solid to cut out clear cut chances. Controlling Goetze and marking the runs of Kagawa would be crucial in this aspect.
The team news is that Tomas Rosicky is out with a thigh strain and (surprise surprise!) Abou Diaby has recovered well enough to make the bench. For Dortmund, they are missing Neven Subotic and I hope we can make the most of his absence.
Team Line Ups:
Arsenal(4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny, Andre Santos, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Song, Gervinho, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott.
Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianski, Johan Djourou, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Frimpong, Yossi Benayoun, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh.
Manager: Arsene Wenger.
Borussia Dortmund(4-2-3-1): Roman Weidenfeller, Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Felipe Santana, Lukasz Piszczek, Sebastian Kehl, Sven Bender, Kevin Grosskreutz, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Goetze, Robert Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Mitchell Langerak, Patrick Owomoyela, Moritz Leitner, Ilkay Gundogan, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ivan Perisic, Lucas Barrios.
Manager: Jurgen Klopp.
Dortmund have had a similar start to the season as us, and they have notched up six consecutive wins in the German Bundesliga (we are on a 5 win streak), which also includes a win over German giants Bayern Munich last weekend. I happened to watch the game out of interest as well as anticipation and they really stood out as a hard working, pressing team much in the mould of Barcelona. They press from the front and they like to squeeze players looking for a pass. It will be a big test for our defenders and our deeper lying midfielders tonight and I hope Arsene has a plan to counter Borussia's gameplay.
In terms of results, we need a win to guarantee progress from the group. While that is surely desirable, it is not going to be an easy task. We need to stay disciplined from the first minute to the last. Also, we must be defensively solid to cut out clear cut chances. Controlling Goetze and marking the runs of Kagawa would be crucial in this aspect.
The team news is that Tomas Rosicky is out with a thigh strain and (surprise surprise!) Abou Diaby has recovered well enough to make the bench. For Dortmund, they are missing Neven Subotic and I hope we can make the most of his absence.
Team Line Ups:
Arsenal(4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny, Andre Santos, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Song, Gervinho, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott.
Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianski, Johan Djourou, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Frimpong, Yossi Benayoun, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh.
Manager: Arsene Wenger.
Borussia Dortmund(4-2-3-1): Roman Weidenfeller, Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels, Felipe Santana, Lukasz Piszczek, Sebastian Kehl, Sven Bender, Kevin Grosskreutz, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Goetze, Robert Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Mitchell Langerak, Patrick Owomoyela, Moritz Leitner, Ilkay Gundogan, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ivan Perisic, Lucas Barrios.
Manager: Jurgen Klopp.
Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund online broadcast stream http://thelivefootball.com/?match=20
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