Champions League Group Stages

First topic message reminder :

The draw is tonight and we could have some potentially crazy strong groups, Manchester City have a 50% chance of being in the same group as Bayern Munich or Barcelona.

What is the tie everybody wants to see in the group stages?

it was great strong centre forward play though.

Its a good dimension to add to arsenal's talents!!

Ramsey hasn't done much today and would have been the one I would have taken off over wilshire- however wilshire looks to be a bit injured!! fingers crossed.

either way though the team looks better with cazorla

Fernando is back!!!!

In his sulky mood he would've ruined both scoring chances but he has his instinct and enthusiasm back.

When did i leave

Cazorla & Ozil could be an epic midfield pairing

The whole back four have been amazing. Ramires and Lampard quite pedestrian. Torres, Oscar and Hazard the main men. 2-0 Schurrle off for Mikel. Only change we've made all night.

CFCNick wrote:Fernando is back!!!!

In his sulky mood he would've ruined both scoring chances but he has his instinct and enthusiasm back.

How many times have we heard that in the past two years?

It could be he only bothers in the Champions League.

Ice pack on Schurrle's ankle.

Or against the weaker european sides, the moment he starts ripping the best teams in England apart again i'll believe he's back to his best.

Arsenal 1-2 Dortmund - Lewandowski on the counter, Very much against the run of play this half, Had been dominated by Koscielny resorted to elbowing him in the face but to be fair he only needs 1 chance to score

Arsenal been open to the counter attack down that wing all game. Gibbs been getting caught forward too much

I would say it couldn't get any worse but well Bendtner is on

3-0 Hazard. Good finish but could have easily played Torres for his hat trick.

Dortmund ain't been great this half but classic counter. Tough set of fixtures to come, first hurdle might have fallen already. Ozil too quiet.

oh well arsenal lost- the game was pretty shocking tbh after us all building it up, 50-50 game , arsenal didn't do enough with it and got countered!!

well played dortmund! set up perfectly away and defended well- They made ramsey look almost rubbish!!

chelsea crushed schalke though- away wins for the PL and the bundes.

textbook away performance from Chelsea: take the early lead, soak up the pressure and nick a couple on the break as the opposition push forward and leave themselves exposed. Both counter-attacks fairly simple, but devastating.

Happy with that, opening day defeat to Basel somewhat whiped out now.

Olly wrote:Against a team that's as good on the counter as Dortmund, he'll be a real miss

#

And on the counter Dortmund scored the winner. Told ya

Now Arsenal gotta get something in Naples or Dortmund. Tough ask, not impossible.

Don't think it was a red for Lewandowski either

elsewhere, Basel held to a draw in Bucarest, could be costly come final reckoning that. Marseille pretty much out after a tame home defeat to Napoli (tight group that). Milan and Barcelona draw. Celtic with a much-needed (and quietly impressive) win against Ajax.

And I said about flamini too. Tough away jobs now for arsenal. Chelsea professional job, nice turnaround after the Basle game.

Olly wrote:

Olly wrote:Against a team that's as good on the counter as Dortmund, he'll be a real miss

#

And on the counter Dortmund scored the winner. Told ya

Now Arsenal gotta get something in Naples or Dortmund. Tough ask, not impossible.

Don't think it was a red for Lewandowski either

i will give you that one olly! 

I was hoping the lads could actually do more with their possession and just out score them!

Not sure why Ozil was stuck out on the right wing most of the second half, completely out of the game there. Baffling really

The step up in opposition made arsenal frustrated, made them do things in an attempt to unlock the doors. For me, still trying to complicate around the final ball. Gibbs was too gung ho for this level - Ramsey was way below standard he set, Ozil anonymous. Arsenal weren't bad but you can't afford to be off pace at this level, you can get away with it in the EPL against the poorer teams. Big month for Arsenal, as I've said before......defining period.

Well they still look a good team even with a pretty shoddy performance - but yes we have to also give dortmund credit.

if you are going to lose- lose to a good team that has to do it on the counter.

But they did over play a lot - I think the last few wonder goals got into their heads abit. I noticed way to much flicky stuff that didn't pay off!!

Arsenal over-playing? never seen that before

A somewhat disappointing result for Arsenal this evening, but you would hope they are good enough to get something in Napoli (who aren't really a great side) and that should be enough to get them through...

they should be able to get something in dortmund as well.

Arsenal slow to get going, they didn't really start until midway through the first half. After that, they controlled the majority of the game, but couldn't force another goal. Wilshere largely injured, Ozil largely absent, Giroud largely isolated, and Ramsey largely over confident - may have been the reasons for Arsenal's lack of real threat. I think Arsenal's passing lacked any real zip and bite to it, there was little in the way of tempo, or anything to severely threaten a well-organised Dortmund side.Actually think Arsenal's star player tonight was Kieran Gibbs. Very mature performance from him.

Dortmund's threat was the counter, and the counter-punch took the sails out of Arsenal, and the three points back to Germany. Well organised were Dortmund. Happy to play to their strengths - the counter - and they did so to great effect. Lewandowski was the biggest threat to Arsenal's goal for the game. Should have been sent off though.

A huge injustice for Arsenal - Lewandowski shouldn't have even been on the field. Maybe, if Wenger really wants to win the Champions League, he'll have to rethink his strategy. Koscielny should have fallen to the floor and done 20 rolls on the floor. Arsenal should have intimidated the referee, and brandished imaginary cards - that's what Barcelona and Madrid do, and they've won a few.

Hang on a sec, Arsenal have something...pride, and hats off to them for that. A truly undeserved result for Arsenal, but they have many positives to look back on. Their group has been blown wide open, and they still have to go to Napoli and Dortmund - a long way to go yet before Christmas time.

Well done to Chelsea tonight - fantastic result for them.

Duty281 wrote:A huge injustice for Arsenal - Lewandowski shouldn't have even been on the field. Maybe, if Wenger really wants to win the Champions League, he'll have to rethink his strategy. Koscielny should have fallen to the floor and done 20 rolls on the floor. Arsenal should have intimidated the referee, and brandished imaginary cards - that's what Barcelona and Madrid do, and they've won a few.

you forgot the "clutching your face while taking a sneaky look at the ref to make sure he's seen you" part, Barca are brilliant at that

Not sure I see Arsenal getting anything at Dortmund tbh.

The Napoli game is the big one for me, they should see off Marseille easily enough at home. On paper they should get something in Naples, but it's a heck of a place to go and get a result, will be a real test of their character

I wouldn't say it was an undeserved loss, arsenal should have played better, and are better , simples..Wenger will have learnt a lot from that game..

walcot should be coming back soon which is the exact impact player they need to mix up their style.

And there's no way that's a red card for Lewandowski

Olly wrote:Not sure I see Arsenal getting anything at Dortmund tbh.

The Napoli game is the big one for me, they should see off Marseille easily enough at home. On paper they should get something in Naples, but it's a heck of a place to go and get a result, will be a real test of their character

did that performance frighten you in any way?

they are not unbeatable. arsenal have the ability to outplay them.  Home or away. They just need to make it count on the day

Olly wrote:And there's no way that's a red card for Lewandowski

Deliberate elbow in the face = violent conduct
Violent conduct = straight red card

mystiroakey wrote:

Olly wrote:Not sure I see Arsenal getting anything at Dortmund tbh.

The Napoli game is the big one for me, they should see off Marseille easily enough at home. On paper they should get something in Naples, but it's a heck of a place to go and get a result, will be a real test of their character

did that performance frighten you in any way?

they are not unbeatable. arsenal have the ability to outplay them.  Home or away. They just need to make it count on the day

Of course they ain't unbeatable, but this is the runner-up from last year, a point off Munich (who they already beat this season) in the league, who've just gone to Arsenal and won without really playing well. It's gonna be a very tough ask for Arsenal to go there and get a result Myst

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

Duty281 wrote:A huge injustice for Arsenal - Lewandowski shouldn't have even been on the field. Maybe, if Wenger really wants to win the Champions League, he'll have to rethink his strategy. Koscielny should have fallen to the floor and done 20 rolls on the floor. Arsenal should have intimidated the referee, and brandished imaginary cards - that's what Barcelona and Madrid do, and they've won a few.

you forgot the "clutching your face while taking a sneaky look at the ref to make sure he's seen you" part, Barca are brilliant at that

Ah, the basics of Barcelona FC. The bread and butter.

Busquets or Neymar? Who's a better drama queen?

Duty281 wrote:

Olly wrote:And there's no way that's a red card for Lewandowski

Deliberate elbow in the face = violent conduct
Violent conduct = straight red card

Deliberate elbow? Come on Duty that weren't mate.

I hate this elbow rule that's come in, it's like people are meant to jump like lemons with their arms down by there side, sometimes people get caught accidently it happens

Duty281 wrote:

Olly wrote:And there's no way that's a red card for Lewandowski

Deliberate elbow in the face = violent conduct
Violent conduct = straight red card

It was not a red card in the slightest.

Why give a yellow then?

It's one or the other:

Not deliberate = No foul.
Deliberate = Foul and a red.

The referee's stuck at the halfway house, and is wrong either way.

Certainly looked deliberate to me, and not a natural movement of the arm.

First decent team Arsenal play all season and they lose. Says it all.

Huge win for Celtic, another cracking night at Celtic Park, this club belongs in the Champions League

Buzzing for nando torres netting twice, class win for Chelsea that.

it says what nick? They outplayed them and lost in a very tight game..

teams win ,lose and draw- you win by winning more than you lose. Thats it

Duty281 wrote:

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

Duty281 wrote:A huge injustice for Arsenal - Lewandowski shouldn't have even been on the field. Maybe, if Wenger really wants to win the Champions League, he'll have to rethink his strategy. Koscielny should have fallen to the floor and done 20 rolls on the floor. Arsenal should have intimidated the referee, and brandished imaginary cards - that's what Barcelona and Madrid do, and they've won a few.

you forgot the "clutching your face while taking a sneaky look at the ref to make sure he's seen you" part, Barca are brilliant at that

Ah, the basics of Barcelona FC. The bread and butter.

Busquets or Neymar? Who's a better drama queen?

I'd like to throw in the wild card selection. Dani Alves. All three are just as good as each other at it.

CFCNick wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

Duty281 wrote:A huge injustice for Arsenal - Lewandowski shouldn't have even been on the field. Maybe, if Wenger really wants to win the Champions League, he'll have to rethink his strategy. Koscielny should have fallen to the floor and done 20 rolls on the floor. Arsenal should have intimidated the referee, and brandished imaginary cards - that's what Barcelona and Madrid do, and they've won a few.

you forgot the "clutching your face while taking a sneaky look at the ref to make sure he's seen you" part, Barca are brilliant at that

Ah, the basics of Barcelona FC. The bread and butter.

Busquets or Neymar? Who's a better drama queen?

I'd like to throw in the wild card selection. Dani Alves. All three are just as good as each other at it.

Valdes, Messi and Sanchez all have previous against Chelsea as well

just for the memories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReK1waJFhLI

What an atmosphere at Celtic Park, don't know if anyone watched it, Ajax fans are absolutely mental, smashed the city up today, good side but lack a cutting edge, Virgil Van Dijk is a fantastic footballer, he's our next big value player, we're not as strong a team as we were last season and we weren't truly that strong last year so anything we get from this competition is down to sheer effort and guts with a little bit of guile.

Van Dijk is very very good, think we could see him at the world cup next year.

Think Napoli are being very underestimated especially at home, they are pretty hopeless away but have that important win in Marseille but now back at the San Paolo at home Arsenal will be lucky to get anything. Napoli completely dominated Dortmund at home.

Arsenal losing wasn't a reality check really because their not as good as Dortmund. It`s just shown us that against quality, arsenal are still not capable & unfortunately could be a sign of things to come. Dortmund didn't even play well themselves n were missing Piszczek/Gundogan & obviously Gotze leaving from last year. Arsenal overplaying, yeah, they always do. Giroud might have scored but he's not the answer at this level, lack of pace really showed last night. If Arsenal can't unlock the door with one touch play, then pace in behind will but without Walcott they didn't have it & became frustrated.

As for Arsenal expecting to get a result at Dortmund, think again. Dortmund can blow anyone away at home. Atmosphere in Naples will be electric too. Did I read someone say they aren't very good? Beat Man City at home, doing well in series a, have benitez`s tactics n have Higuain, Insigne, callejon among the rest of the £100m they spent. Not easy at all.

walcott will certainly add that dimension when he comes back..

And I think arsenal should not be scared away at dortmund. That is the last thing they need due to the fact that they need to play a good brand of attacking football there to have a chance., They can't play the defensive style that chelsea could play and steal the points, or what dortmund effectively did against arsenal last night.

Yes they can certainly get a result and they should not believe they are worse, because on a footballing level they are not.,.

But as we knew before that group started it was going to be the group of death and to be honest i am just as fearful of arsenal in naples as i am of them in dortmund!

If they turn up and play sexy football with pace they can get results at both, if they dont they could lose both

BTW John you can't say napoli are good now to prove a point over before when you said they weren't that good after arsenal beat them(to prove that arsenal had not beaten a good team!!)

Everyone knows Napoli are good at home & poor away. They were miserable at the Emirates but they have the quality to beat Arsenal at home. I know what your saying, just the differences between home/away are important to factor in. I`d say Arsenal are more likely to get a result in Naples than Dortmund.

I am not sure if there were miserable, They just got beat. We can't allways rate other teams as the 'standard'(miserable if they lose and great if they win)

Arsenal should also in theory be pretty similar home or away.

John wrote:Arsenal losing wasn't a reality check really because their not as good as Dortmund. It`s just shown us that against quality, arsenal are still not capable & unfortunately could be a sign of things to come. Dortmund didn't even play well themselves n were missing Piszczek/Gundogan & obviously Gotze leaving from last year. Arsenal overplaying, yeah, they always do. Giroud might have scored but he's not the answer at this level, lack of pace really showed last night. If Arsenal can't unlock the door with one touch play, then pace in behind will but without Walcott they didn't have it & became frustrated.

As for Arsenal expecting to get a result at Dortmund, think again. Dortmund can blow anyone away at home. Atmosphere in Naples will be electric too. Did I read someone say they aren't very good? Beat Man City at home, doing well in series a, have benitez`s tactics n have Higuain, Insigne, callejon among the rest of the £100m they spent. Not easy at all.

It was me that said that Napoli aren't very good. They blew a 3-1 1st leg lead against us. At a time when we were at our worst spell under Roman. We were outside the top 4. Needed a replay to knock Birmingham out of the FA Cup. How does any self respecting top European side throw away a 3-1 lead to anybody?

That's the type of team they are. Great at home but so so poor away.

I think you guys are just basing this away form on a couple of games- they have won 3 games out of 4 away this season domestically so far. and 1 out of 2 in the CL!!

chelsea are just a top team, so are arsenal. Accept it!