Arsenal v Standard Liege Preview

One advantage of being an Arsenal fan at this time of the year, is that games come thick and fast. So that bad taste from the Sunderland loss does not have to stay in my mouth for a whole week. Just a couple of days! Arsenal take on Standard Liege at home knowing that they need a point to guarantee passage to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the tenth successive season. Standard Liege know that they need a win at The Emirates if they want to try and catch Olympicos for second spot in the group. Previous Meetings

• The game at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on 16 September showed Arsenal’s comeback spirit as Liego jumped out to a 2-0 lead through Eliaquim Mangala and a Jovanović spot-kick. Arsenal began their comeback through Nicklas Bendtner, and then 13 minutes from time, Thomas Vermaelen got the equaliser. Eduardo then wrapped up a comeback victory four minutes later.
• Arsenal’s only previous home game with these opponents ended in a 3-0 win. However, the real story of that 1993/94 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup second round tie came in the second leg in which the English team triumphed 7-0, Standard’s worst result in UEFA club competition, with six different players finding the net.

Coaches Comments
Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager

We have a good opportunity this week to qualify for the next round and to win the group. It is important to finish top as you could have a disadvantage in the draw by finishing second. Beating Standard would be the perfect way to respond after the disappointing result at the weekend. How you react to defeat is how you judge a big team. The mood is currently one of disappointment that we lost a game we didn’t expect to lose, but we have to remember that Sunderland had one shot on target and scored one goal. When you watch tapes of Standard you think, ‘We should beat them,’ but they have shown they are a team that has the capacity to raise their game. They did that against us, they did it against Olympiacos and they did it against Alkmaar. They are a team that are always well-focused.

László Bölöni, Standard coach

It is always a great feeling to come to England and play in a football temple such as this one. We are all very happy to play here and it would be nice to be happy when we leave the stadium as well. Standard have played well in England before and we hope to continue that. After what we did against Liverpool, Everton and even Arsenal [a 3-2 defeat] in the first game, I think Arsenal will have a good word for us and show us respect. Unfortunately, I have to leave Jovanović out. He has struggled with injury since the first match against Arsenal, he has not trained properly and he returned from international duty injured. Against Gent [on Saturday] he played almost on one leg. I like the simple way Arsenal play and I greatly admire Arsène Wenger. We must do more than just fight. It is not easy to wage war without the ball. We will be organised and do our utmost to play to our strengths. Our team is very young but I don’t think they will be overawed by playing in front of a big crowd in such a big stadium.

Arsenal Injuries Kieran Gibbs is fit again after bruising his right ankle playing for England Under-21s last week, and I expect him to start at left-back. Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is close to a comeback from his knee injury, but Abou Diaby (calf) and Johan Djourou (knee) are still out.

Attacking Options With Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner both out through injuries, and Eduardo not impressive against Sunderland, don’t be surprised to see Carlos Vela play a lot on this game. In his press conference, Wenger had this to say about Vela’s performance at Sunderland. “Vela is a fantastic talent and he is 20 years old,” Wenger said. “We have invested a lot of time for him because we put him in Spain for two years, got him back and now we work with him every day. I believe he is a Robbie Fowler-type. He needs very little time to make a decision in the box. He is relaxed when he finishes and he has very short back-lift. He is left-footed and he is a similar size.” Not sure whether Wenger will go with Eduardo and Vela together, or whether he will go with Vela up front and Arshavin playing behind him. Either way, Arsenal will not be shut out again here.

Prediction Gunners get back to scoring goals and winning games. Arsenal win 3-1.