Arsenal are set to take on Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in their fifth UEFA Champions League fixture of the season. The north London side have not been in their best form recently and their loss to West Brom at the weekend does not set a good precedent for the upcoming game. Zagreb are also not in as good a run of form as they were going into this fixture earlier in the season. They currently sit second in the Croatian league table and have lost two of their last five games. Furthermore, they have not won any of their last 11 away Champions League fixtures and so they will be hoping to put an end to their torrid run.
The first man who Arsenal need to be wary of, again, is Armin Hodzic. The young Bosnian has been in fine form for Zagreb; scoring nine times in 12 appearances. Hodzic is a very good finisher of the ball and will certainly punish the Gunners if they present him with too many chances. He boasts an incredible goalscoring record at youth level and so it comes as little surprise that he is playing so well at the moment. Now, with the Gunners’ defence not as solid as it was when these two sides met earlier, the 21-year-old may well look to take advantage of Arsenal’s shortcomings.
The main issue for Arsenal in this week’s European fixture is their attacking play. Realistically, the Gunners shouldn’t be losing to Zagreb twice in a single season and so the only thing that will stop them beating their opponents this time around is lacklustre, inefficient attacking play. With Welshman Aaron Ramsey likely to play a part in the game after resuming full training this week, the Gunners will be able to demonstrate some of the attacking prowess that they showed earlier in the season where they looked for a time, unbeatable.
Alexis Sanchez also has to step up. He has been one of the Gunners’ best players this season and yet he hasn’t reached the heights that he did last season. In these big games, the diminutive winger needs to show his pedigree, take the game by the scruff of the neck and drag his side to a result. He is not as good as Thierry Henry was; capable of taking the ball on the edge of his own box, running up the length of the pitch and scoring with ease. However, his ability is still far superior to that of any of Zagreb’s players and so he needs to show what he can do.
Arsene Wenger’s men must get back to winning ways. The loss to Bayern Munich has evidently knocked the confidence in the team, and with the numerous injuries that the team has sustained it is unsurprising that they aren’t playing quite as well as they could be. However, a win in Europe this week would definitely raise the spirits at the club and reignite the winning feeling that they need to succeed again.
