Beating Borussia Dortmund Could Shape Arsenal's Season

It could well be described as the game of the week in the Champions League. Two of Europe's most in-form teams go head-to-head at the Emirates on Tuesday as Premier League leaders face the Bundesliga's second-placed team, Borussia Dortmund.

Whilst the game is hardly a defining one in terms of the Group F Champions League table, it could be a pivotal moment in Arsenal's season if they manage to pull off a huge victory.

The run of games the Gunners face over the next month is either stomach churning or exciting, whichever way you look at it. After Tuesday's clash with Dortmund, between then and the 23rd November, they face a return trip to Germany in Europe, as well as some tricky domestic games.

They include a London derby with Chelsea, the visit of Liverpool and a trip to Manchester United. Throw in a potential banana skin with a home game against surprise package Southampton, and you have all the makings of what is widely regarded in football as a tricky run of fixtures.

Beating Dortmund would start that run off brilliantly and continue some superb momentum Arsene Wenger's men have built up so far this season.

Jurgen Klopp and his side are sitting second in the Bundesliga, just two points behind the all-conquering Bayern Munich. And, despite losing to Napoli in their opening Group F encounter, they still possess a large threat to the Gunners.

No side has scored more goals in the German top division than the men in yellow and black. Despite losing the attacking fulcrum of Mario Gotze to rivals Bayern in the summer, the likes of Robert Lewandowski have carried on from where they left off last year. He already has six goals in the Bundesliga from nine games.

There isn't the sole threat of Poland's leading light. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus have five each, too. Dortmund still possess that star talent all across the park, despite the loss of Gotze.

That's why beating the Germans would be such a huge achievement for the Gunners. It would put them well and truly in control of what many people believed was a group Arsenal would struggle to qualify from. Nine points from three games would represent another suggestion that Arsenal are a force to be reckoned with across the continent.

If they do beat Dortmund, they will have done it without one of their most influential players, too. Wenger confirmed that Mathieu Flamini will miss the game as a result of the concussion suffered during Saturday's 4-1 victory over Norwich.

Beating last years finalists would strike fear into the rest of Europe. That also includes their title rivals on the domestic front—most of whom they face over a pivotal month in Arsenal's season.