Arsenal vs. Schalke 04
UEFA Champions League Group B Match Day 3
Kickoff: Wednesday, October 24, 19:45 GMT
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England
TEAMS RECENT FORM
ARSENAL: WLWWL
SCHALKE 04: WDDWW
While arsenal were busy displaying a dire performance
against newly promoted Norwich city, Schalke 04 were proving to the world that
they are no pushovers with a win against German league champions Borussia
Dortmund.
But the Londoners will be hoping to bounce back straight
away with a win against their Champions League opponents, Schalke.
It’s certainly been a while since these two European
heavyweights squared off, just over 10 years in fact- the score that night
ended in Schalke’s favour, a 3-1 win for the hosts. As you’d expect, both teams
look a little different to this day and Arsene Wenger will be hoping his side
can bounce back accordingly after a poor performance and quite frankly
embarrassing scoreline against Norwich City. His side weren’t at the races that
afternoon and Olivier Giroud did nothing to enhance his reputation amongst the
Gunners’ faithful. Giroud, who’s yet to score in this seasons Champions League.
Arsenal have an extraordinary record at home against
non-English opponents, they are unbeaten in 45 matches at the Emirates and
they'll be looking to continue that run when they face Schalke 04 on Wednesday
night.This will not be an easy task for The Gunners though, as they have a
number of key players out with injuries. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up an
injury in Saturday's defeat against Norwich. He'll be joining Bacary Sagna,
Theo Walcott, Laurent Koscielny and Abou Diaby on the sidelines.
One piece of good news however was the return of Jack
Wilshere, after a 15 month lay off. The England international was included in
the squad for the match against Norwich although he didn't get a run out. It is
unlikely that Wilshere will start against Schalke seeing as he still won't be
fully match fir, but depending of how things are going for Arsenal we could see
him make a cameo appearance during that latter stages of the match.
For Schalke, it’s pretty clear to all that Klaas Jan
Huntalaar is the man to watch. The Striker managed to cement himself as one of
the most clinical players in the world last season with a staggering 29 goals
in 32 games last season, a record similar to that of a former Arsenal striker!
Schalke employ a pretty fluid 4-4-1-1 system, with Dutch
international striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar leading the line, and German-English
Lewis Holtby roaming behind him as a shadow-strikery type. Both have three
Bundesliga goals and should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.
Wingers Jefferson Farfan on the right and Tranquillo Barnetta on the left are
both seasoned internationals as well, while Marco Höger and Roman Neustädter
will roam the middle. Captain Benedikt Höwedes will form the base of the spine
along with Papadopoulos, unless the Greek cannot go, in which case, Cameroonian
Joël Matip is your best bet.
Arsenal's options are a bit limited due to injury, but a
front three of Olivier Giroud, Gervinho, and Lukas Podolski (who has scored in
every game he's played against 04!) is a surefire bet, and Santi Cazorla and
Mikel Arteta, along with Aaron Ramsey, are almost certainly the middle three.
Options off the bench are slim, but Serge Gnabry and Andrei Arshavin, along
with Francis Coquelin, are available options. Per Mertesacker seems likely to
start instead of Laurent Koscielny, simply due to Bundesliga experience. Most
likely the lineup will be:
Mannone
Jenkinson - Mertesacker - Vermaelen - Santos
Ramsey - Arteta
Cazorla
Gervinho
- Giroud – Podolski
The two teams have only face each other once previously,
back in the Champions League group stages in 2001. The teams came out one a
piece, both winning at home. Although Arsenal conceded more goals in those two
games.
RESULTS IN THE LAST FIVE GAMES
Norwich 1 - 0 Arsenal
West Ham 1 - 3 Arsenal
Arsenal 3 - 1 Olympiacos
Arsenal 1 - 2 Chelsea
Arsenal 6 - 1 Coventry
Last Five Results:
Borussia Dortmund 1- 2 Schalke 04
Schalke 04 3 - 0 Wolfsburg
Schalke 04 2 - 2 Montpelier
Fortuna Dusseldorf 2 - 2 Schalke 04
Schalke 04 3 -0 Mainz
Prediction
I'm going for another home win for Arsenal to keep their
record in tact. It won't be easy though as they'll have to bounce back from
their defeat to Norwich. But if Cazorla is given the time and space that he
needs he will be able to dictate the pace of the game and keep Arsenal in
control of proceedings and a goal for Oliver Giroud
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