Arsenal face Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates on Wednesday and will be hoping to clinch a place in the knock out round of the UEFA Champions League. The Gunners had lost 2-1 to Dortmund when the teams last met in 2013 and had lost the earlier tie in Dortmund 2-0 as well.
The Gunners need only 1 point from their remaining 2 games in the group to clinch a place in the next round or if the game between Galatasaray and Anderlecht ends in a draw, that would also be enough for the team from London to make it through.
Dortmund have been a real Jekyll and Hyde team this season, they are in the relegation playoff position in the Bundesliga but have already qualified for the next round in the UEFA Champions League and that presents some hope for the Arsenal team, who themselves have been faltering in the Premier League.
Dortmund would be without Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, who are injured and with qualification already done and dusted, Klopp could make a few changes in his team, to rest his players and look ahead to the fixture in the Bundesliga at the weekend, here are 3 things that Arsenal must do to beat Dortmund.
Do not overcommit in attack
When Arsenal played Manchester United in the weekend, the team from Manchester took the lead and then things started going bad for Arsenal, they kept on overcommitting in attack in search for the equalizer which led them to succumb and concede another goal.
Arsenal need to ensure that they have enough bodies at the back and not be in FIFA 15 mode while attacking, even without Reus, Dortmund are a decent side and have looked quite good in the Champions League.
Defend smartly
The Arsenal defense will have Laurent Koscielny back and that will provide relief to Nacho Monreal who had deputised in the absence of the Frenchman. Arsenal are not blessed with pace at the back while Dortmund have tons of pace to burn with the likes of Immobile and Adrian Ramos.
The Germans are also good on the counters, which is the correct way to play against Arsenal, Arsenal need to ensure they have enough bodies to cut out any attack and with Jack Wilshere missing, this will be an even tougher task for the Gunners to keep the team from Dortmund quiet.
Arsenal’s back 4 would have to work really hard and play a deep line so that Dortmund’s attackers do not have enough space to exploit the lack of pace at the back for.
Keep an eye on Mkhitaryan
If Arsenal want to win the game they would have to keep Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a leash, Flamini would have his work cut out dealing with the 25 year old Armenian. Mkhitaryan has started coming in much deeper from his attacking midfield role and instead of just finishing moves, he has started to create them from the midfield.
He isn’t just a threat near the box anymore and now plays a much deeper role to initiate attacks; this is something that he still hasn’t come to terms with. Arsenal need to be careful when dealing with the wily Armenian, as any slip up by their midfielders tracking him could result in some major problems.
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