Match Preview: Arsenal v Dortmund; All Too Familiar Foes

Three years ago, Arsenal drew Dortmund in the Group Stages for the first time since 2002. At the time of the pairing it was ticked off as a bout of heavyweights. Dortmund were in their ascendancy and considered one of the darlings of the tournament. Arsenal, as we all know are perennial visitors to the elite stage of Europe’s biggest competition.

For Dortmund their focus on the league in the end sacrificed their campaign. But the matches against Arsenal were solid affairs and ones that both sides relished. Matched up again last season, the two duked it out and in Germany the Gunners were hailed for their defensive master class and in London – well not so much. In all the two teams have met each other four times in the Group Stages, this being the third time in four years.

It is probably not a way we’d want to start this group but if anyone has experience on playing at Dortmund away, it’s Arsenal. The two are an evenly matched squad throughout their playing histories with Arsenal having a record of 6 GP 3W 1D 2L GF8 GA 6. Still nights in Dortmund aren’t easy and Arsenal should expect to have a tough opening match.

Each team comes into the match with it’s own questions marks. Not about playing per se as each had respectable match results over the last weekend but each features injuries to key players. For Arsenal, Mathieu Debuchy is out with an ankle injury but would’ve been out regardless due to a suspension from too many yellows accumulated in the qualifier. Monreal stayed back in London with a back injury. Chambers is questionable due to a bout of tonsilitis (which I suspect him to recover from in time.)

Dortmund’s list of walking wounded is no less impressive, with wunderkind Marco Reus having a long spell on the side with an ankle injury. Jakub Błaszczykowski, Nuri Sahin and İlkay Gündoğan are all definitely out with Mats Hummels needing to pass a late fitness test to be ready in time.

All in all its a difficult match to snuff out. Last season when Dortmund tried a high line against Napoli, Higuain was able to drift in and out along the line and take advantage of the Germans. I would suspect with the speed of Welbeck up front, Dortmund may sit a little further back. Dortmund suffered their only loss of the early BL season through a constant attack by Leverkusen. While Dortmund seemed good going forward, they always were susceptible on the counter-attack.

The model for Arsenal is there. Don’t be afraid to attack Dortmund (which we know is not going to happen) and when they do have the pressure, use the outside wings to hit them on the counter-attack.  However, part of that depends on what formation and personnel Wenger goes with.

Wenger has reverted to the 4-1-4-1 (similar to Pep’s Bayern) as a means to handle teams intent on pressing Arsenal off the ball (we’ll go into this more in tomorrow’s blog) but for whatever reason, he persists on keeping Özil out wide. Now, look manager’s have their reason for every move. It could be as simple as making room for both Ramsey and Wilshere and the best number 10 in the world. I’m not a fan of that rationale as it deprives Özil of playing in his comfort zone and given his need to be nurtured, you want him in his preferred role. But it is the bosses decision. If it were me and I were going to persist with the 4-1-4-1, then the likely choice out wide is Sanchez and Oxlade-Chamberlain (until Theo comes back). That mix of speed out wide and Welbeck upfront is going to give teams fits. Why not revert to it now is beyond me but as I’ve always stated that’s the manager’s call. He sees or wants something from that lineup. So. . .

While it may not be the easiest way to start off the group, it’s nice having group matches that are worth watching. While the English press have been lapping up the Liverpool return to the Champion’s League story (against some team just left of civlisation) the real matches are in Germany with our Arsenal taking on Dortmund and City tomorrow against Bayern. And let’s not forget United and Tottenham against. . . oh wait, never mind.

In the end I think it’s a tough match but both will want to be on the best possible footing with Gala and Anderlecht still in the offing. Look for a hard fought and well earned draw from both teams.

Players to Watch:

Arsenal. Alexis Sanchez.  As each match passes, Sanchez looks more and more comfortable in this squad and the return is starting to show. His work ethic is amazingly strong and his speed going forward offers Arsenal an excellent dynamic going forward.

Dortmund. Sinji Kagawa. A likely victim of circumstance at United, the Japanese star is back at Dortmund where he excelled and has already shown glimpses of his former self.

Projected Lineups:
Arsenal: Szczesny; Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs;  Arteta, Wilshere; Ramsey,  Özil, Sanchez; Welbeck

Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Subotić, Papastathopoulos, Durm; Bender, Kehl; Mkhitaryan, Kagawa, Grosskreutz; Ramos

Arsenal Injuries and Suspensions:
Giroud (ankle), Debuchy (ankle) Walcott (match fitness), Monreal (back)

Dortmund Injuries and suspensions
Blaszczykowski (back) Gundogan (back) Kirch (thigh) Reus (ankle) Sahin (knee) Hummels (doubtful – test)

Head to Head Tournament Stats:

Match Official

Referee:
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (POR)
Assistant refereesRicardo Santos (POR) , Nuno Pereira (POR)
Additional assistant refereesCarlos Xistra (POR) , Marco Ferreira (POR)
Fourth officialNélson Moniz (POR)

Broadcast Information:
US: FoxSoccer 2 Go 2:45 PM EST

UK: Sky Sports 5 1945 GMT/20.45 CET

YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal 1 – 1 Dortmund

Manager’s Comments:

Arsène Wenger

I have great respect for Mr Klopp. He rose up very quickly in his career and inspired Dortmund. What does he do better than me? Maybe a lot of things. But I love to see his team playing dynamic and attractive football. I like it.

In defence we of course have the Mathieu Debuchy injury, but I don’t feel we are stretched. The Debuchy injury put us in a position where we do not want more and hopefully we have good news after the scan today that he can be back soon. We have [Calum] Chambers who can play in different positions and Héctor Bellerín, who I think now is ready to play.

Bellerín is a boy with personality. He’s not fazed by the pressure. That’s important when you’re a young boy. His transitional game is fantastic. He’s quick and his final ball is good. He lacks a bit of experience but he’s very dangerous

Jürgen Klopp

Arsenal have a lot of new players in their squad. They have bought a lot of quality with players like Alexis Sánchez and Danny Welbeck. Arsenal did a very good job during the transfer window. They have stability and are able to play defensively now. Furthermore they have a lot of quality in the centre of midfield.

If you watched Arsenal here last year you will have noticed that they are very strong in defence with a good transition game. But we are not thinking about our previous matches against Arsenal. We draw conclusions from their last Premier League matches.

The Champions League begins now and it will be a tough start. We want to be as aggressive as we can. We have to concentrate on the main attributes you need when playing football. Then we will have to be tactically clever to nullify their way of playing. After doing that we can bring our own skills to the table. That will be a hard job for us tomorrow

Match Facts:

• Arsenal qualified for their 17th successive group stage campaign with a 1-0 aggregate win over Beşiktaş JK in the play-offs, Alexis Sánchez scoring the winner, his first goal for the club.
• Last season, the Gunners departed in the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive year, with FC Bayern München their conquerors for the second season running. They drew 1-1 in Munich in the second leg but lost 3-1 on aggregate.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last ten matchday one fixtures, winning eight (including the last two) with two draws. Their last opening-day defeat was FC Internazionale Milano’s 3-0 win at Highbury in 2003.
• Arsenal’s record against German clubs away from home is W5 D5 L5; overall it is W14 D6 L10.
• The Gunners have won five of their last ten away games in the competition, drawing three and losing two.
• Last season’s loss to Arsenal was their first against English visitors in European competition. Previously they had won four of the seven contests, with three draws.
• Before Arsenal’s win, BVB had been victorious in seven successive home UEFA Champions League games.

All data and manager quotes come courtesy UEFA’s official match press kit.