Arsenal travel to Zagreb to kick off their European campaign on Wednesday night. Placed in a tough group along with Bayern Munich, Arsene Wenger knows that this is a must win match for the Gunners.
Dinamo Zagreb are no pushovers though and are currently on a 41 match unbeaten run across all competitions. They also came through last year's domestic campaign unbeaten and became the first Croatian team to do so. They have continued their form to this season having beaten rivals Lokomotiv 4-0 last week. Former Manchester United striker Angelo Henriques is expected to start for the Croatian side.
Zoran Mamic's side will be without midfielder Goncalo Santos as he misses out through suspension. The on form Dinamo Zagreb are however without a win in their past 15 Champions league games and have lost their all 6 matches against English opposition.
Arsenal, playing in their 18th consecutive Champions league campaign should know to handle complacency and will need to do a professional job to get all 3 points. Wenger's side beat Stoke City 2-0 last week and looked slick and creative with their passing. Their finishing was rusty though and the North London club missed a host of opportunities to score in that game.
Despite that, Wenger might want to persist with Theo Walcott upfront in a bid to boost his confidence ahead of the weekend's game against Chelsea. There could be a bit of rotation in the squad and Oxlade Chamberlain may get a start against what is perceived to be a weaker opposition. Arsenal will be without Jack Wilshere, Per Mertesacker, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky.
Wenger has a lot of experience in Champions league and last year's defeat to the hands of AS Monaco will still be fresh in the minds of Arsenal players so they should be smart enough not to get switched off during the game. Physically and technically, the English side is miles ahead of their opponents and that should tell when the two sides meet on Wednesday.
Predicted score : Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 3 Arsenal
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| Dinamo Zagreb vs Arsenal |
Zoran Mamic's side will be without midfielder Goncalo Santos as he misses out through suspension. The on form Dinamo Zagreb are however without a win in their past 15 Champions league games and have lost their all 6 matches against English opposition.
Arsenal, playing in their 18th consecutive Champions league campaign should know to handle complacency and will need to do a professional job to get all 3 points. Wenger's side beat Stoke City 2-0 last week and looked slick and creative with their passing. Their finishing was rusty though and the North London club missed a host of opportunities to score in that game.
Despite that, Wenger might want to persist with Theo Walcott upfront in a bid to boost his confidence ahead of the weekend's game against Chelsea. There could be a bit of rotation in the squad and Oxlade Chamberlain may get a start against what is perceived to be a weaker opposition. Arsenal will be without Jack Wilshere, Per Mertesacker, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky.
Wenger has a lot of experience in Champions league and last year's defeat to the hands of AS Monaco will still be fresh in the minds of Arsenal players so they should be smart enough not to get switched off during the game. Physically and technically, the English side is miles ahead of their opponents and that should tell when the two sides meet on Wednesday.
Predicted score : Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 3 Arsenal
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