After an extremely tight 1-0 win over Besiktas in the Champions league play-offs, Arsenal have made it to the group stages of the Champions League. It has been 17 years in a row Arsenal have managed to secure their passage into the prestigious competition and this is a statistic not to be taken lightly.

Arsenal have drawn Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Anderlecht from the three remaining pots. On paper, it may seem like Arsenal have a fairly tricky draw on their hands because all the other teams involved either finished as champions or as runners up in their respective leagues.

Here is an in depth analysis of what to expect from each team.

Borussia Dortmund

Placed in the same group alongside Arsenal last season, both sides picked up points away from home against each other in last year’s edition which shows that they are fairly even in terms of quality. Dortmund will be Arsenal’s main opposition when it comes to fighting for 1st place in the group. Last year, they edged Arsenal to 1st only on goal difference in an unprecedented group in which the top three teams all finished on 12 points. Arsenal will be looking to do better this term with marquee signing Alexis Sanchez to bolster the attack.

Dortmund started this season off with a 2-0 win against their arch rivals Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup. Although they haven’t gotten off to the best start in the Bundesliga, they are not a team to be underestimated and with world class talents like Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, among others, they cannot be written off.

Galatasaray S.K.

Galatasaray caused a stir in last year’s Champions League when they usurped Italian giants Juventus to take 2nd spot in Group B alongside Real Madrid. They will look to cause a stir this time around as well but they will have to do it without their ex-striker Didier Drogba who left on a free to join Chelsea this summer. Their pre-season seems to have gone well with 5 friendlies played resulting in 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Most recently they lost the Football Federation Cup to their arch rivals Fenerbahce in a penalty shootout. With star players such as Wesley Sneijder and Burak Yilmaz, they could be a threat on their night but on paper it does not seem too likely.

R.S.C. Anderlecht

Belgian based Anderlecht have gotten off to a near perfect start in their domestic league by winning four and drawing one of their five games played. Pulled in from Pot 4, Anderlecht are expected to be the whipping boys of this table. They do have a young Serbian striker named Aleksander Mitrovic. Reports indicate he snubbed Arsenal last summer to join Anderlecht. Dubbed the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he has scored 3 goals and earned one assist in the opening 5 games and could be one to look out for.

Other players to look out for are Matias Suarez and Dennis Praet. Although Anderlecht plays the role of the underdog in this group, they could use youth and unpredictability to their advantage, although it does seem more likely that a season of Europa League football could be a realistic aim for them.

Top of the table for Arsenal?

Going through in the ‘Group of Death’ last year by the finest of margins, matters seemed to be more assured and calm this time around. Arsenal are expected to go through with ease this season.

My prediction is Arsenal will end up topping their group with Dortmund coming in a close 2nd. I think Anderlecht will cause a mini surprise and finish above Galatasaray in the Europa League spot.

Latest: