Arsenal ready for Marseille test

A buoyant Arsene Wenger and his boys will take on Marseille in their first Champions League group stage clash. Having put to bed a tough Fenerbahce side in the qualifying stages and winning three out of their last three in the Premier League the confidence at Arsenal F.C has never been higher, more so if you take into account the arrival of a certain Mesut Ozil, slated to make his Champions League debut for the Gunners this Wednesday.
Defeating Marseille is imperative for the Gunners’ knockout qualification hopes if you take into account the pedigree of the other contenders of Group-F vying for a top two finish; last year’s finalists Borussia Dortmund and last season’s Serie A runners up Napoli. But Arsenal’s French defender Laurent Koscielny is confident that Wenger’s track-record of qualifying from the group stages in each of their last 13 attempts will remain unblemished, “We are experienced in the Champions League and are all looking forward to this challenge again. We know this will be a big challenge for us, but we did well against Marseille and Dortmund the last time we played, and we are confident of doing it again.”
Marseille though aren’t expected to be pushovers, they have almost a full squad to choose from with centre-back Souleymane Diawara the only notable absentee. Having lost just one of their first five games in Ligue 1, the likes of Dimitri Payet and Andre-Pierre Gignac will the full support of a boisterous crowd at the Stade Velodrome.
In contrast Arsenal enter the contest with a heavy injury baggage. Santi Cazorla, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky and Yaya Sanogo won’t be making the trip to France. But with in form striker Olivier Giroud declaring himself fit and Mesut Ozil making his debut alongside a resurgent Aaron Ramsey, one can expect plenty of magic.

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