Arsenal vs. Dortmund: Tactical Preview of Champions League Game
If Arsenal want to qualify first from their Champions League group, they have to win both their remaining games and hope for a slip-up from BVB. That quest starts here against the German outfit.
The Gunners were crushed in Dortmund on Matchday 1; will Arsene Wenger have something different up his sleeve here?
Arsenal News
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Wenger has injury problems to deal with—what's new?—but can accept the blame for a missing Olivier Giroud personally. After the Frenchman broke his ankle, he decided not to register him thinking he wouldn't be fit before Christmas.
According to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, Damian Martinez looks set to start in goal with Wojciech Szczesny out, Jack Wilshere is not an option, and the long-term absentees remain. Good news, though, arrives in the form of Laurent Koscielny's return to the setup.
Guessing the formation here is tricky, but with Wilshere out, it's reasonable to expect a 4-4-1-1 with Alexis Sanchez behind Danny Welbeck. Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta will be in midfield.
BVB News
According to WhoScored.com, as many as seven first-team players could miss out here for Borussia Dortmund. In a way, BVB are like the German equivalent of Arsenal when it comes to injury issues.
The big, big blow comes in the form of Marco Reus: The German winger tore his ankle ligaments at the weekend and was stretchered off; he's out until 2015.
Sven Bender, Mats Hummels, Sokratis and Jakub Blaszczykowski are all doubts, meaning much of the XI picks itself. We could be in for a treat with Ilkay Gundogan ready to start.
Tactical Point 1: Avoiding the Press
In the first matchup between these two sides, Dortmund essentially played 4-4-2 and pressed like men possessed. Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang starred from the front, totalling seven tackles between them whilst scoring a goal each.
BVB have been atrocious in the Bundesliga but ramp up their game for European nights under the lights. With Blaszczykowski a doubt, it's almost certain Aubameyang and Immobile will partner up again in some form, and that means Arsenal's first task is to avoid the press.
It's not easy; in fact, it's damn difficult when Jurgen Klopp's men have the wind in their sails. Dortmund's (now hollow) Super Cup victory to start the season was based on literally frightening Gianluca Gaudino in midfield into giving the ball away.
Arteta and Ramsey will need to be sharp. If they can shrug the initial wave, there is some serious space to exploit, and Sanchez will find himself one vs. one—possibly vs. Sebastian Kehl!
Tactical Point 2: BVB's Midfield Conduit
BVB can't always win the ball high up and will settle in to a low block to defend when the press is beaten. Arsenal averaged close to 55 percent of possession in the first meeting and completed over 100 more passes, per WhoScored.com, so expect a similar pattern here.
What becomes important—and this is for the attentions of Arteta, really—is the conduit Klopp uses to move the ball out of defence quickly. He won't trust Immobile or Aubameyang to receive the first 15-yard pass from deep; he'll likely field Shinji Kagawa or Henrikh Mkhitaryan to do it instead.
Mkhitaryan has his uses here (for one, he's ridiculous fast with the ball at his feet), but can have off-nights that detriment the team. The safer option is Kagawa, to whom the ball sticks to; his influence against Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker was obvious for all to see.
BVB could get stuck in their own half if their conduit for transitions is marked out, making this a near-man-marking job. Is Arteta up to the task?
