After the disappointment of last month’s late show at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side travel to Germany for the reverse fixture of the game that so nearly saw them practically thorough to the knockout stages.
Since the game at the Emirates, Arsenal have picked up 6 points without conceding in the League, however were knocked out of the Capital One Cup after a strong Chelsea side won 2-0 against a weakened Wenger eleven – however the 2-0 wins against a battling Crystal Palace and a table-climbing Liverpool have made the past weeks highly successful.
Dortmund have been in similarly ruthless form in the Bundesliga, triumphing in a difficult away game in at Schalke with goals from Emirates substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jakob Błaszczykowski along with former Gunners target Nuri Sahin, before a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick within 18 minutes struck Klopp’s side to a 1-6 victory against Stuttgart.
Group F is on a knife edge with Arsenal, Napoli and Dortmund all boasting 6 points after 3 games, leaving Marseille out of the running without a point.
Team News
Arsenal will be without midfield maestro Jack Wilshere for the clash in the Westfalenstadion Stadium, as the Englishman recovers from an ankle injury which has kept him out of action for the past few weeks.
The 21-year old is said to be a doubt for the Manchester United game at the weekend along with England’s upcoming international friendlies with Chile on the 15th November and with Germany on the 19th.
"He will have on a test on Thursday and if that is not successful, he will be out for Sunday," said Arsene Wenger. "And if he is out for Sunday he will be out with England as well."
Mathieu Flamini will watch the game on TV as he is suffering from a groin problem, however Kieran Gibbs is available after he was sidelined with a hip problem, with Thomas Vermaelen likely to continue at left-back though.
Serge Gnabry was involved in training on Tuesday but is unlikely to be match fit in time for Wednesday night’s game, as is Theo Walcott who is still out with the abdominal injury which has seen him miss a large section of the season.
Musical football
Managers Klopp and Wenger have exchanged compliments and drawn bizarre musical metaphors between the two sides ahead of what is being called the Group F decider.
Klopp was first to comment:
"(Arsene Wenger) is really something. He is Sir Arsene Wenger," Klopp joked.
"But he likes having the ball, playing football, passing it. It is like an orchestra but it is a quiet song. I prefer heavy metal. I always want it loud."
Wenger was quick to respond, and did so in typical Wenger fashion:
"I am not a music specialist but Dortmund is a very good team so we should see a good symphony tomorrow,"
"We are a positive side, Dortmund are a positive side," Wenger added. "So you have a guarantee both sides will try and win the game.
Expected Line-up
Szczesny; Sagna Koscielny Mertesacker Vermaelen; Arteta Ramsey; Ozil Rosicky Cazorla; Giroud
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