Arsenal – Borussia Dortmund Preview

By: jg | November 22nd, 2011

Who’s ready for a good old fashioned England-Germany turf war?

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With City at the hands of the Footballing Gods after their 1-2 loss to Napoli, United not so good themselves after their 2 Hilarious Mistakes-2 Benfica draw at Old Trafford, and Chelsea sucking right now, it’s fair to say that England haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory in Europe this season. With City almost out of Europe, United most likely to finish second, and Chelsea facing a tough trip to Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow, it could be that this year, we’ll be the only English team to win our respective CL group-

In a thick, condescending British accent, reminiscent of an urban British youth, only hoarser “But wait, Arsenal are in crisis! Cesc and Nasri! 8-2!”

Sigh. Yeah, August and September sucked for us, and yeah, I know the 8-2 was awful, although-

“…You also lost 4-3 to Blackburn. Blackburn. You’re in CRISIS!”

Let me finish. Yeah, those 2 months were pretty bad, and were our worst start ever. But our new signings are gelling, results are picking up and-

“Oh yeah, you’re new signings. Mertesacker suuuuuuuuuuucks. And Arteta gives, like what, 0.2 assists a game? Not a good replacement for Cesc, I’m afraid! And Andre Santos. Good lord. You should have bought Gary Cahill, Joey Barton, and Emile Heskey. 3 proven, EPL players with class-”

I’m sorry, I’m going to have to interrupt. Those players are nowhere near Arsenal quality-

“EXCUSE ME! HOW DAAAAARE YOU INTERRUPT ME! I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I HAVE WRITTEN FOR THE SUN FOR MORE THAN 17 MONTHS AND-”

English Tabloid Hack Writer, at this point, convulses into a fit of rage, similar to the effects you see in one suffering a stroke, only without the sympathy and worry you would feel for someone suffering from a stroke. The writer is wheeled away by interns, and can only mutter weak phrasings, such as “City are England’s Barc….” and “Arsenal are…. still in… cris…”

Anyways, sorry about that. Sometimes he breaks out and… well. The point is, if we win tomorrow, we are assured of CL knockout stage football for next season. If we win, and Marseille do not win against Olympiakos as well, then we win the group at the end of Matchday 5, while the likes of City, United, and even Chelsea will be a little unsure on their CL future. Nice, isn’t it? However, Borussia will be no walkover tomorrow. Not at all. After all, they have this guy:

goetze

Dortmund have improved since we last left them. After a brief, struggling start to their season, they have picked up their slack and now sit squarely in 2nd place of the Bundesliga table, 2 point behind league leaders Bayern Munich. Speaking of Bayern Munich, Borussia just beat those guys, at their own ground, 1-0, with Goetze the sole scorer. Munich have been rampant this season, and Dortmund were only the second team this season to inflict maximum damage. Their key figures are of course, Goetze, striker Rowan Lewandowski, holding mid Sven Bender, and attacking mid Shinji Kagawa. They also have the most promising CB pairing in European football (in my opinion), with German Matt Hummels and Serbian Neven Subotic both being talented, skillful CB’s with a bright future.

The last time we fought them, they completely dominated us, particularly in the first half. And if it wasn’t for a combination of poor finishing and some lucky saves, the end result would have been much, much uglier for us. Fortunately, a great van Persie goal gave us the lead right before half time. After a defensively solid second half display, a wonder goal from Ivan Perisic 2 minute from time equalized for Dortmund. A 1-1 draw that fit our performance.

Now, we’ve definitely improved since our last meeting with Dortmund, so I think a win should be expected here. We have no new injuries since the Norwich game, and our team news are pretty positive. The biggest news is that Diaby has recuperated ahead of schedule and is in the team for tomorrow. Very positive news, and a big boon for Diaby, who has been absent since March of 1923. On a sadder note, Rosicky picked up a small thigh strain and won’t be able to face his old club tomorrow. Pooh. Finally, van Persie was rested for the last CL game, but he was judged to be fine for tomorrow and will start. Yay!

Based on the team news, here is my prediction for the lineup tomorrow:

Szczesny

Koscielny Mertesacker Vermaelen Santos

Song Arteta

Walcott Ramsey Gervinho

van Persie

Subs: Fabianski, Djourou, Coquelin, Diaby, Arshavin, Benayoun, Chamakh

If the team is judged to be good on fitness, then I suspect that we’ll see the same lineup that beat Norwich tomorrow. It sucks to have to move Koscielny, but, Norwich BLUNDER OF THE MILLENNIUM aside, Mertesacker presents a much better option than Djourou, and there’s no way the Swiss would be handed with the start if he had to come up against the likes of Goetze and Kagawa. By the way: Jenkinson, please return. You’re doing fine. Hugs and kisses, AO.

In midfield, Ramsey has blossomed recently in that CAM role, so let’s keep him there. Up front, van Persie will probably score 5. If he doesn’t, then that’s irrefutable proof that sucks. End of discussion. Gervinho will want to redeem himself after his Norwich horror show, and Walcott will want to continue his good showing.

On the bench, with Rosicky out, Diaby should settle in. It’ll be nice if he can get a sub appearance, the man deserves to step on the pitch and hear some applause. But only if we’re cruising- if we need a result, Arshavin will be a better option. And if we’re a man down or otherwise hold a precarious lead, Coq is the way to go. Ahem.

That’s a strong team up there, and one that should handle Dortmund and come away with the 3 points. A win tomorrow will guarantee a spot in the knockouts, and most likely will guarantee a spot as a group leaders, which means we will get to avoid Real Madrid, Bayern, and Pretentious Diving Douchebag- ahem, Busquets and Friends. Let’s get out there and show those Germans how it’s done (no offense to any Germans, Germany is super cool.)

Come on Arsenal!

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Category: Champions League, Fixtures, Preview

« Who Is… Robin van Persie | Home | The Liveblog 3000! Arsenal v. Dortmund edition »

JG

FYI, Chuks Aneke signed a loan deal with League One team Stevenage United yesterday. The deal will run until January. Elsewhere, Sanchez Watt, who has been doing well in the Reserves, has signed a similar loan deal with Sheffield United, a big chance to prove himself. Also, Nico Yennaris, who started at RB for us in the CC match against Bolton, has signed a new contract.
Darren_V

Well done JG, You had me smirking the whole way through that preview.
RE Diaby. While he has only shown flashes of what makes Wenger want to keep him around, and has had many poor performances for Arsenal, I find it immensely difficult to feel anything but sorry for him. His injury blight must be agony for him.
As for him in the squad and being positive new, I agree. He may not have a 'best' position in our midfield three, only Diaby and Wilshere have the ability to make surging runs from the middle of the park, something I feel we have been missing and making us more reliate on our wing play.
Patoux21

if we win tomorrow, we are assured of CL knockout stage football for next season?
torrit

I think that by "season" he means spring.
You know, season of the year.
Patoux21

It would be nice for Arsenal to be automatically qualified for the next CL if they pass the group stage as I have great doubts we will finish in the top 4 this season
Martin

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you . . . but that's not how it works. Qualifying for the knockout stage has no impact on whether you qualify for the Champions League next year (see Spurs, who made it last year and are not in the CL this year).

The only exception I can think of was Liverpool, who qualified for 2005-2006 Champions League despite finishing 5th in the league the previous season, but that was a special exemption because they had won the CL the previous season.
torrit

Patoux21 took it from the paragraph right above Goetze's picture:

"(...)The point is, if we win tomorrow, we are assured of CL knockout stage football for next season.(...)".

I think it is a bit misleading.
LachlanS

I saw that and looked it up to double check. I assume its a simple error on JG's part. It would be very handy for us though. Make us feel a lot better about the rest of our season. It would be nice that if Spurs beat us to 4th, we still got the CL spot.
torrit

Or winter as it's still astronomical autumn and first two matches of knockout stage are played in february and march.
Gunnersaurus

What's wrong with diaby ?
ABOU DIABY: 108 EPL apps, 14 goals, 10 assists.
LUKA MODRIC: 100 EPL apps, 10 goals, 16 assists ..
Homey_Mills

If you torture the numbers enough, they WILL confess.
Patoux21

Diaby can be a good player well healthy. Many people here are harsh with him but you are criticising a player who's been playing few games maybe not too well because injuries after injuries so it's not that simple to perform straight away ...
Patoux21

Diaby can be a good player well healthy. Many people here are harsh with him but you are criticising a player who's been playing few games maybe not too well because injuries after injuries so it's not that simple to perform straight away ...
Patoux21

Diaby can be a good player well healthy. Many people here are harsh with him but you are criticising a player who's been playing few games maybe not too well because injuries after injuries so it's not that simple to perform straight away ...
ASDF

Show that stats to Chelsea and lets sell Diaby to them for $30mil :) :)
Rico

Thanks for the write-up. Come on CL!!
Yes, I think the reason for my lack of sleep last night was joy that Man City got beat and Nasri started on the bench.... again. (Must be getting to him now, being a not so good super sub)

As for tonight I think Gervinho will get the start as he did put the effort in for the Norwich game but just couldn't find the net also I think Arshavin works great as a super sub! He can change games.

Do Arsenal still paying Diaby?! I think I last saw him on the titanic in 1912, maybe that's when he got injured.

Also, I wonder what today's word of the day will be. Difficult to beat circumnavigating!
Chullalobo

Bayern fan here. I gotta say two things. First, Subotic won't be playing since he broke his cheekbone and therefore Dortmund are playing with Felipe Santana. Now this can be seen as a good thing for arsenal, but it is in fact REALLY bad, Santana has way more experience and he will not commit the stupid errors Subotic makes. Secondly, Hummels is in my opinion in the best 5 CB in the world. He is a beast so keep an eye on him. He has a powerful header and he scores with it during set pieces A LOT!
Casimir

Don't mean to be nit picky but it's Robert Lewandowski, not Rowan. :)

It's a shame Kuba has fallen into Klops doghouse. He is a fantastic dribbler to see, and for the last two seasons usually split time with Goetze. Now apparently he hasn't even been making bench appearances recently.
Homey_Mills

I don't mean to nitpick, but it's "Klopp" and not "Klop." :)
Gigi_man

great preview, u made me laugh several times, keep up that style when wiriting, it keeps my nerves down before a game like this...oh wait here it comes, aaaand, I am nervous again.
Homey_Mills

Couple of thoughts...
1) Doesn't Goetze look like he's about 13?
2) I noticed Subotic wasn't in the lineup against Bayern Munich. Is he injured?
3) JG, how could you use the phrase "very positive news" to describe Diaby's return? Do you really want to see him playing for Arsenal again?
4) I'm guessing Gervinho goes to the bench, and Arshavin starts this one. Just a hunch.
Axel

Kryiakos broke subotic's face.. He's out
Martin

Yeah, he got messed up but good on that, I saw the picture of his face afterwards, he looked like Rocky Dennis. Between him breaking his face and Rossi blowing out his knee, it's been a bad time for those who turned their back on the United States Men's National Team. Somewhere someone is picking up an Andy Najar voodoo doll right now.
JG

Re: Diaby. Not really, especially when our current midfield triumvirate is doing so well at the moment. But a player returning from injury is very good news by default, first for the player himself, and second to the team because now we have more depths.
Rico

Diaby who?
The Gaffer

Thanks for the preview! This will be a difficult game, Dortmund have had a similar season to us, starting poorly but have now won 6 and drawn 1 in the last 7 Bundesliga games. Should be a close one, but I am predicting a 2-1 victory for us. COYG!
Rex

its ROBERT Lewandowski
Tee_sui

First of all, Thanks for the write-up!

And now...TBH, having watched the Bayern-BVB game and my limited knowledge of the Bundesliga, BVB are more of a team that only has an overall average performance. I see BVB more like a team whose strength is in the fact that they have players who are great at capitalizing (Goetze...and I suppose Perisic)on the odd error their opponent makes, no matter how dominant their opponent is playing. More often than not, that's the punishing blow to their opponents. But that's just my $0.02.On a side note, and this has to be done in caps, BUT HOW AWESOME IS IT TO SEE MAN SHITTY LOSE AT NAPOLI AND NA$RI STARTING ON THE BENCH?That's like the best bday gift I could ask for. well 2nd best, the best gift would be hearing that RvP has put pen to paper on a contract extension. FOOTY GODS. MAKE THAT HAPPEN.