Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal preview: Europe’s first, plus favourite line-up
Written by Chris on September 12, 2011 19:30
The Game
Considered by many as the toughest opposition in Pot D, Borussia Dortmund tomorrow host Arsenal in what will hopefully be an entertaining game of football.
It is not easy to predict what will happen tomorrow at the Signal Iduna Park but for sure is that we travel to Germany with a lot of question marks hanging over the squad and, as said on Saturday, the “work in progress” sign yet to be taken off as of course five new players joined the team last week and are yet to properly settle down in Arsene Wenger’s formation.
According to many, there is a reason why the summer transfer window ends on August 31 and that’s to give everyone the chance to find the right players at the right price with the right wage structure. But, unfortunately, it is also true that late signings usually need at least a full month to adapt to a new life, a new team and a new formation and going forward, this is a concern.
I think this month, September, will be crucial for Arsenal. With two Champions League games against tough opposition, tricky games in the Premier League against Blackburn and Bolton and Shrewsbury at home in the Carling Cup where new players will have their opportunity to get things going, this is indeed the period where we will understand what our objectives will be for the campaign.
Some believe it’s too early to start drawing conclusions on what our targets are for the season but I respectfully disagree. The more I see the two Manchester teams the more I realise that it will be very, very difficult to leapfrog them at the top of the table, that is, for them to lose three games in a row and for us to win all of them, I just can’t see it at the moment.
For sure, is that we have to take it one game at a time. Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshere will not be back before October and as said above the new players will need weeks to properly settle down so you could easily say that we will only see the “Arsenal of the future” from next month. Until then, yes, let’s do our best to limit the damage this month hoping to be in a strong position in England and Europe when Arsene will have a full squad to choose from.
To conclude, if you want to know more about the Germans, I invite you to check Jeff’s article published this morning as it includes a detailed analysis of Jürgen Klopp’s squad.
As always, my favourite line-up is below. Remember you can submit your own at Arsenal Interactive and then share it on Twitter and Facebook.
Favourite line-up

Compared to Saturday, I feel the defensive department will be an unchanged one although if Andre Santos is fit then maybe he should be given the nod for the left-back position. Kieran Gibbs was again disappointing with his defensive duties against the Swans and we desperately need to know if the Brazilian is a better defender before it’s too late.
In midfield, Tomas Rosicky failed to recover from injury and it’s a shame as the Czech wanted so much to feature again in the stadium where he spent a good part of his career. With him out, I would start with Alex and Emmanuel alongside Mikel.
Up front, we welcome Gervinho back and it has to be Theo Walcott to give way. The more I watch Theo the more I wonder if he’s killing the progress – to put it in Arsene’s terms – of other players. I mean he’s been at the Club for ages yet we see very little improvement from him over the years as I’m more than sure others players would have progressed much, much more if given the same opportunities.
But anyway, offensively I would of course start with Robin supported by the Ivory Coast International and Andrey Arshavin. Frankly, I cannot understand how some were not happy with the Russian’s game last weekend, he was fantastic, created space for his team-mates, assisted and scored a very difficult goal to execute.
The Gunning Hawk Coverage
As always, tune in for team line-ups, streaming links, half time and full time reports, post-match thoughts, video highlights and what the press is writing. And of course, do contribute if you want to by making use of the comment box available at the bottom of the post as it’s always nice to hear your opinion. And as a final note, if you want to go one step further than just leaving a comment and want to have your articles published on our website, take a look here for more information.
Arsenal Interactive
And of course, don’t forget you’re still in time to pick your preferred team for this game. And when the final whistle blows, don’t forget to rate the players, comment on their performances and share your personal ratings with your friends. All this and more, available at http://www.arsenal-interactive.com.



Arsenal News 24/7



Ramsey injury while training today was preventable imo bec he has played every minute of every game so far this season (including 2 internations for wales) without rest, and his performances showed he was feeling the strain as he has struggled recently to keep pace (often with games of low intensity). It upsest me to see, yet again, that the management at Arsenal are NOT being pro-active in managing the players condition.
I also dont agree with your assessment of Theo. He has only been given few chances to play in a more central position and everytime he does, he impresses. He would also do plenty of damage out on the left because he can cut inside and shoot with his favoured right-foot (as he has aready done this season). Meanwhile, Gervinho, so far, has been asked to play where he played for Lille, and more importantly, where he feels he is best suited….and has performed.
I am wondering why we dont try Walcott on the left and Gervinho on the right? After all, both Santos and Gibb are both very attacking and progressive fullbacks who overlap well maintain the width in this scenario. Recall Pires….he was a master of this.
Finally, I would also like to see Arshavin play just behind RVP up front. We need to change this here, mix it up…..
RVP
Walcott Arshavin Gervinho
Arteta Song
Gibbs/Santos Koscielny Mertersacker Sagna
Szcezny