CL Group F: BVB vs Arsenal [P+R]

[Tosiek]

GROUND:

Dortmund
Coach Jürgen Klopp
We're looking forward to this match. I have had a discussion with [Shinji] Kagawa as things have changed a lot for him over the last year and he has become an important player with new responsibilities now. It is normal that he won't play perfectly in every match so I told him that it is important that he has fun. And maybe tomorrow he will play fantastically again.

They have a very good team who can beat anyone. They play very attacking football but it does not matter who plays for them, we have to focus on us. Arsène Wenger is one of the most impressive coaches and his Arsenal team has been playing very well for years and he has done a great job.

I think it is good for us that Arsenal play attacking football. The problem is that they have so much quality that we have to be very careful. But we are prepared. We are capable of defending against this kind of team and have to work to make space and impose our own game.

Weekend result
Saturday: Dortmund 1-2 Hertha BSC Berlin
(Lewandowski 88; Raffael 50, Niemeyer 81)
Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Subotić, Hummels, Schmelzer; Bender (Zidan 73), Gündoğan (Da Silva 46); Błaszczykowski (Perišić 59), Kagawa, Grosskreutz; Lewandowski

• Dortmund's second Bundesliga defeat of the season ended an 18-match unbeaten run at home, which had dated back to their 1-0 loss to Sevilla FC on 30 September last year.

Team news
Lucas Barrios is yet to play this season after tearing a thigh muscle during Paraguay's Copa América final defeat by Uruguay. Also yet to appear are Marvin Bakalorz (Achilles), Patrick Owomoyela (hip) and Julian Kock (knee ligament tear).

Arsenal
Manager Arsène Wenger
We had to qualify for the Champions League and got our team together very late, but we showed quality in our last match against Swansea and we are trying to get better with every match. We must get consistency. We have a lot of respect for Dortmund. They play a little bit like Arsenal – they play offensive and fast. We also want to play offensively so it is going to be a good and interesting match.

We are used to playing matches across Europe but it is special in Dortmund, because of the spectators. They are well organised and technically good. [Mario] Götze is maybe the best young German player. We have to control him and take good care of him. I did not want Dortmund in the draw, there were a lot of weaker category 4 teams and so I was a little bit disappointed about drawing Dortmund. But it is also motivating to play against such a strong team in such a big stadium.

Weekend result
Saturday: Arsenal 1-0 Swansea City FC
(Arshavin 40)
Szczęsny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Frimpong (Coquelin 75), Arteta; Arshavin (Benayoun 63), Walcott, Van Persie (Chamakh 81)

• Andrey Arshavin ended a run of 19 games without a goal for club and country. He had last found the net on 19 March.

Team news
Tomáš Rosický is out with a knee injury suffered on international duty, Aaron Ramsey also did not travel after picking up an ankle injury in training, while Carlos Wilshere (ankle, out since 4 September) and Thomas Vermaelen (left ankle, 24 August) are both sidelined. Abou Diaby has not played since 9 June and underwent surgery on an ankle injury at the start of the summer. Sébastien Squillaci has not featured this season due to a calf problem.

Match fact
While 1997 winners Dortmund are ending a nine-year group stage absence, Arsenal are competing for a 14th straight season. In Dortmund's last participation they faced Arsenal, losing 2-0 away but winning 2-1 at home with two Rosický goals.

Previous meetings​

• The Group F rivals were also paired in the same UEFA Champions League section in the 2002/03 first group stage, the last time Dortmund were involved. They went down 2-0 in north London but won 2-1 at home. Rosický scored both the German team's goals, the second a penalty, after Thierry Henry had opened the scoring for the visitors. Sebastian Kehl also played for BVB.

• Last season's Bundesliga champions have a habit of beating English opponents in important ties. They overcame Liverpool FC 2-1 in the 1966 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in Glasgow having removed West Ham United FC from their path in the semi-finals with a 5-2 aggregate victory. The goal against in a 3-1 home win was the only time they conceded in their first four home games against English visitors before Henry's strike.

• Dortmund also knocked out Manchester United FC en route to victory in the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League, winning both legs of their semi-final 1-0.

• Arsenal's last game in Germany was a 2-1 win at Hamburger SV in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage, Rosický scoring the winner. It was one of three wins in Germany with five defeats and two draws; of their six UEFA Champions League games away to Bundesliga opponents that is Arsenal's sole victory, with one draw and four losses.

Match background​

• Arsenal – who finished fourth in last season's Premier League – owed their participation to a play-off victory, the fifth time in six seasons they have come through a qualifying round. Theo Walcott gave the London side a narrow home first-leg victory against Udinese Calcio. Although that was wiped out by Antonio Di Natale's first-half header at the Stadio Friuli, Robin van Persie restored Arsenal's aggregate advantage and, after Wojciech Szczęsny had brilliantly saved a Di Natale penalty, Walcott clinched progress.

• Last season Arsenal reached the round of 16 where they went down 4-3 on aggregate to eventual champions FC Barcelona. It was the 11th successive season they had made it through the group – they finished as runners-up behind FC Shakhtar Donetsk – and the first time since 2006/07 they had failed to reach the quarter-finals or better.

• With the 3-1 defeat at the Camp Nou following reverses in their previous two group away fixtures, at Shakhtar and SC Braga, Arsenal have lost six of their last seven away games in the competition proper. Their only success in that sequence came on matchday two last season when they won at FK Partizan.

• Arsène Wenger's team began last season's campaign with a 6-0 home victory against Braga. It was their sixth matchday one victory in seven attempts, the only blemish a 1-1 draw at FC Dynamo Kyiv in 2008/09.

• This is Dortmund's seventh participation in the UEFA Champions League. In 1997 they became the first winners from Germany, beating Juventus 3-1 in Munich.

• At home in their 2002/03 first group stage campaign, apart from the win against Arsenal, Dortmund played AJ Auxerre (2-1) and PSV Eindhoven (1-1) to finish with ten points, level with section winners Arsenal but second on head to head record. In the second group stage they beat FC Lokomotiv Moskva 3-0 at home but lost to AC Milan 1-0 and drew 1-1 with Real Madrid CF.

Team ties​

• Rosický played for Dortmund between 2000 and 2006, when he left for Arsenal, scoring 19 goals in 149 Bundesliga games.

• Dortmund’s Mario Götze, Marcel Schmelzer and Sven Bender, and Arsenal's Per Mertesacker, were in the Germany team that shared a 2-2 friendly draw with Poland last week in Gdansk. The home side included Arsenal's Wojciech Szczęsny and Dortmund pair Robert Lewandowski and Błaszczykowski, who both scored.

• When Belgium faced Poland in an UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier in November 2006 in Brussels, Thomas Vermaelen played for the home team and Jakub Błaszczykowski for the visitors, who won 1-0.

• Błaszczykowski and Lewandowski were in the Polish team beaten 2-0 by Rosický's Czech Republic in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Prague.

My personal favourite of today's games. It will be a real pleasure to see at least 3 Polish players on Champions League night. Also I'm curious what the youngsters of BVB will show against such an experienced CL team as Arsenal.

I really miss the time when every single CL match deserved a thread here at SG.

Massive is right, every CL game deserves its own match-thread. I'd like to encourage you all to open Champions League threads, as some of you might be interested in other matches.

 

[MaSsiVe]

yeah Anthony, you did inspire me to make a thread for the Porto match


this should be a good one too, Arsenal's form is abysmal atm but Dortmund don't seem to be in full throttle either...
I'm thinking of a win for the home side:

2-1
Kuba, Lewandowski
RVP

 

[ARIAGA II]

Won't be seeing the game live, but here's my prediction.

BvB 1 - 3 Arsenal

Kagawa ; RVP 2x , Arteta

 

[Tosiek]

this should be a good one too, Arsenal's form is abysmal atm but Dortmund don't seem to be in full throttle either...
I'm thinking of a win for the home side:

2-1
Kuba, Lewandowski
RVP

Just like I supposed; Błaszczykowski will start this game on the bench as he really disappoints lately. Lewandowski and Piszczek are in; Szczęsny is in the goal and Fabiański heats the bench as usual. Can't wait for the kick off.

I like the new Score Center at UEFA.com.


If anyone's interested here's a decent stream click

 

[RobbieD_PL]

I want to see either a draw or Arsenal victory, probably more likely that the former than the latter will happen.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Błaszczykowski doesn't really have a chance when both Kagawa and Gotze are playing.

 

[Tosiek]

Technically yes but as for today both of them don't look good enough to not be replaced.


Kehl is just terrible, he lost so many balls and he is the one to blame for the conceded goal. All the injuries that he had had in the past has killed him as a player.

Arsenal's defence looks a bit shaky at times, this formation needs a lot of improvements. Since Fabregas is gone they lack key player in the midfield which is easy to notice tonight. I hope for a better second half.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Yeah, you're right, they both look a little off this year. Sahin meant a lot to that team and I don't think they've reestablished an identity without him.

 

[poet11]

Well, what a goal.

 

[Tosiek]

What a strike from Perišić!


BVB didn't look motivated enough, they were far from their best that's for sure; they didn't run to every ball like they used to do in the last season. Nothing seemed to work today in the team, the only one which kept playing on the high level was Hummels. He's a nutural leader, he shouts on the teammates when its needed, gives them advice. He should be the new captain.

Substitutions didn't bring anything to the game except the beautiful equaliser. Goetze tried so hard but couldn't do too much tonight; same goes with Großkreutz. Their way of play was frustrating sometimes, they kept playing left side all the time, Piszczek was out of the game during counter attacks.

 

[poet11]

Szczesny has been our best player this season.

Gotze looked great in the Arsenal kit

 

[Tosiek]

Szczesny has been our best player this season.

Now you know how it feels to be a fan of Polish national team; when the best player is always the goalkeeper.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Thought Gotze didn't do much until the last 10 minutes when he got moved to the center, and then he was like lightning in a bottle.

 

[poet11]

Now you know how it feels to be a fan of Polish national team; when the best player is always the goalkeeper.

.......and some keeper that is . He is gonna be an absolute legend hopefully. He has really become one of my most liked players.

EDIT: I must not forget to mention Koscienly too. He was/is eligible to play for Poland too

 

[Tosiek]

Do you guys have any idea why Gündoğan didn't get a chance to play, even for 10 minutes? I know he is not shining yet in the Bundesliga but who does at BVB? If he's a natural replacement for Sahin then why he is not getting time to prove it?

 

[poet11]

Thought Gotze didn't do much until the last 10 minutes when he got moved to the center, and then he was like lightning in a bottle.

Yeah and I was really impressed with Kagawa.

 

[Arnau]

Gundogan is a regular starter this season, no idea why he was sub today.

 

[Tosiek]

Zidan is a lucky guy, he is Klopp's favourite, no matter how long he is injuried, when he is fit enough he always gets his chance. Maybe because they have spent good time at Mainz a few years back or Klopp believes in his individual abilities.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Gundogan is a regular starter this season, no idea why he was sub today.

They were scared of Arsenal's attack, although I don't know why. I guess it's hard to blame a coach in the Champions League for the first time ever and playing Arsenal for being cautious. Still, Dortmund dominated possession from what I saw, and 2 DMs probably cost them 3 points.

 

[ARIAGA II]

I thought Hummels was great, I want.