Wednesday night brings a new challenge to this struggling Arsenal side, with the visit of German giants, Borussia Dortmund, as they look to bounce back from what was a more than embarrassing defeat at the weekend. After performing so well in the Premier League, it almost seems like we’ve gone back to square one, and you don’t need me to remind you of what happened against United. We already know too much.
But looking at the bigger picture, Arsenal are in a great standing to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, yet it seems Dortmund are in pole position to take the top spot. There really is nothing Arsenal can do about it now, they just have to secure qualification tomorrow night, that’s the aim.
The boss confirmed that Oliver Giroud won’t be in the squad during the fixture on Wednesday evening, and his return from injury offers the chance for Danny Welbeck to have one last chance at showing Wenger why he doesn’t deserve to lose his place.
With seven points behind the Gunners, their Champions League campaign has certainly been a welcome break from the misery of Premier League football. Both Welbeck and Alexis are flourishing in Europe, and will hope to capitalise on the poor form Dortmund have found themselves in this years Bundesliga.
But surprisingly enough, it won’t be our main goalscorers that we’ll be focusing on to defeat this German side, that person comes in the shape and size of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Yes, the Englishman is finally putting a great run of performances together and will more than deserve his place in the side at the Emirates. Performing for both club and country in recent weeks, Chamberlain has capitalised on the poor form many of his counterparts are facing, with Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey suffering a huge FA Cup winning hangover.
This week saw Fresh Arsenal vote Chamberlain as our best rated player against United, and quite frankly the only player who looked like he gave a damn when it came to pushing on. It’s that same energy and drive that will see Chamberlain take on the vulnerable left hand side of Dortmund, who lose star player Marco Reus to injury this week. The winger will want to make a good impact, and his versatility means Wenger can use him in the middle or on the right side to get the most out of a player who is boasting confidence all over the field.
Chamberlain admitted to Arsenal Player in recent weeks he has been studying the works of midfield maestro, Alexis Sanchez, and stated that he is learning more and more from the Chilean in each training session. And although you may think The Ox hasn’t changed his game much physically, the change he has made mentally is impressive. No longer will he wait to have a shot, he will just do it and if it goes wrong will apologise and look to get back on with it. He reminds me of Ramsey last year, who played without fear, not ashamed what people will think of him if he tries something different, and we need more players like that.
Someone who won’t be enjoying the great run Chamberlain has found himself on is Santi Cazorla, the Spaniard has recorded the lowest player ratings on Fresh Arsenal so far this season, and is starting to throw questions to Gunners fans of whether he is still good enough. Santi was finally dropped on Saturday afternoon, which gave our front three midfielders something new. The dismissal of Santi will only show Chamberlain that Wenger is not afraid to lose top players if they aren’t playing the right way, and that is the maturity of Chambo coming through once more.
It’s tough to rate this Dortmund side at the moment, seeing as things just haven’t been clicking for Jurgen Klopp’s side. The last time these two sides met was almost two months ago, and in that time a lot has changed. Arsenal look to have a lot more depth in the side following the return of key players Theo Walcott, Laurent Koscielny and Mikel Arteta. It’s a game that Wenger will only want to win, there is no doubt about that, all we know is that a point will see the Gunners qualify for the knockout stages respectively.
But in a game that features a nervous away side, what better moment to unleash the attacking power of Chamberlain throughout the whole 90 minutes. If we start him in the middle, his pace and energy can be developed in the latter stages of the game whilst Dortmund tire at the back. His job is simple, to cause problems for the defenders by getting in behind them, and with winger Theo Walcott breathing down his neck, he knows this could be one of his last chances to play on the right for a long time.
People talk to me about the goal scoring stats for Chambo, he isn’t a goalscorer. His job is to supply and he does that brilliantly, and with whats sure to be a sell-out crowd behind him he can flourish once more.