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Arsenal start their Champs League proper campaign tonight
with a tricky trip to Hamburg, without the main man Thierry Henry.
The skipper has a foot injury sustained while with the France squad.
He played against Boro despite it, with the help of injections,
but didn't react too well to that so is being rested and
hasn't travelled
to Germany with the squad (he's thought to be unlikely to have to
miss the Man Utd game at the weekend). Theo Walcott is there though, after
being rested at the weekend, and could make a start on the wing
if Wenger goes for the 4-5-1 which served us so well in Europe last
year.
But with a near full squad to choose from, especially in the
attacking midfield places, Walcott seems likely to start on the
bench, especially if as expected Wenger reverts to 4-4-2 in the
absence of Henry, partnering Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor
up front with Theo and Baptista as striking sub options.
The only other absentees are long-term ones: Gael Clichy (foot),
Philippe Senderos (shoulder), Abou Diaby (ankle) and Lauren (knee),
none of whom will be back before October.
William Gallas seems likely to continue at left back in an
unchanged defence along with Kolo Toure, Johan Djourou, and
Emmanuel Eboue. And with Gilberto and Cesc Fabregas in the
centre of midfield, that would just leave the question of which two
to play out of Freddie Ljungberg, Alex Hleb, and Tomas Rosicky.
Chances are Wenger will suprise us somewhere, though. Not in goal
though, surely, where Jens Lehmann returns from his 2 match ban
looking to extend his record-breaking Champs League run of not conceding a goal for 763 minutes.
Maybe, though, by going 4-5-1 with Baptista or Freddie as a half-striker.
Arsenal will play with 'Dubai' on their shirts, because Hamburg are
also sponsored by Emirates and UEFA rules don't allow opposing teams
to play under the same corporate logo.
Like Arsenal, Hamburg came through the qualifiers. And like Arsenal,
they'll be fancying their chances of getting through this group. Also
like Arsenal, they've made a slow start to the domestic season (5 draws
and a loss in the cup) and will be looking for a confidence-boosting
result and performance tonight.
They've made some good signings, but the most impressive, Juan Pablo Sorin,
is out injured tonight (in fact, he's yet to play for the club at all)
along with Rafael van der Vaart and Timothee Atouba (once of Tottenham).
Another new boy central defender Vincent Kompany returns from injury to
partner Mathijsen (yet another new signing). They've got 4 strikers none of which
has managed to establish himself convincingly at the head of the pecking order.
Main threat could be former Ajax man Nigel de Jong. Seems like Hamburg's new team
are taking a bit of time getting to know one another, so having them
first could prove to be to our advantage.
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