Impressive Debuchy Will Be Missed For Dortmund Test
What followed was a horribly nervy last 15 minutes, not so much because Besiktas looked like scoring at a moment’s notice, but because if they did find a way through, away goals would send us out. I have to say, we defended tigerishly and Calum Chambers did very well at right back, showing his versatility. Wilshere, Flamini, Cazorla and Alexis also deserve mentions for running themselves into the ground chasing and pressing. Still, there was one heart stopping moment in the 90th minute as a cross was floated towards the back post and seemed destined for Demba Ba’s forehead. However, the former Chav failed to make contact and a collective sigh of relief echoed around the Emirates, Players collapsed at the final whistle as our 17th consecutive season in the group stages was confirmed.
The draw on Thursday once again pitted us against now almost annual adversaries Borussia Dortmund. Galatasaray will mean another long trip to Turkey and two very tricky games, while Anderlecht will provide a reasonable, but hopefully not troubling test in two must win games. Another very challenging group, not as bad as last year, but not far off, especially considering the embarrassingly easy group handed out to Chelsea. Still, I’d back us to get through, but I think I’m right in believing that failure to progress to the quarter finals this season will result in us losing our number one seeding for next year. With Dortmund in the group, topping it will be a real challenge and we’ve seen second place finishes damage us in at least the last three years. However, I’m very glad to be in the competition still and maybe with some late transfer business (haha!) we can progress further than previous seasons.
Teams
Arsenal (4-3-3)
Szczesny (Y), Debuchy (Y-Y-R), Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Wilshere, Cazorla, Özil (Chambers 77’ (Y)), Chamberlain, Alexis
Subs
Martinez, Chambers, Coquelin, Campbell, Rosicky, Sanogo, Podolski
Besiktas (4-3-3)
Zengin, Koybasi, Motta, Kavlak (Y) (Uysal 77’ (Y)), Franco (Y), Gulum, Pektemek (Tosun 87’), Hutchinson (Y), Ozyakup (Y), Sahan (Tore (Y)), Ba
Subs
Uysal, Tosun, Tore, Gonen, Kurtulus, Sivok, Frei
Player Ratings
Szczesny - 6/10 - Had very little to do and was booked for wasting about 5 seconds time
Debuchy - 8/10 - Had a brilliant game and should never have been sent off
Mertesacker - 7/10 - Fairly untroubled throughout the night
Koscielny - 7/10 - Bossed it
Monreal - 7/10 - Another quality performance, he’s giving Gibbs something to think about
Flamini - 7/10 - Very solid performance, in good form
Wilshere - 8/10 - Had a really good night, although did lose the ball too much
Cazorla - 8/10 - Worked his hole off for the team and played with hunger
Chamberlain - 6/10 - Not his best night, nothing really came off for him
Özil - 7/10 - Top assist and did a good job despite playing out of position
Alexis - 8/10 - First goal, some magical moments and worked as hard as anyone else
Subs
Chambers - 7/10 - Came on and looked like he was born to play for us, what a talent
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