Will Arsenal Focus More On Better Performance at Dortmund or Achieving Result?

So we’re nearing the end of the Champions League group stages, and quite simply we should have already been looking at the next two matches as a good chance to get some match time, but having thrown the game away against Anderlecht we’re now left with the task of trying to pick up a point against Dortmund to make sure we don’t have to travel to Turkey needing anything from the game.

Arsenal have won 2 of the 3 clashes between the two teams at the Emirates but, despite Dortmund’s poor domestic form, Arsenal were outplayed when the sides met in Germany back in September.  Dortmund won that game 2-0, but the scoreline flattered Arsenal in so much as it could have been a lot lot worse.

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After the poor performance against United at the weekend Arsenal will look at the fact this is a home match as a blessing and a curse. Firstly, they know they will get some stick for the fact they didn’t dominate the scoreboard after an extremely one-sided first 30 minutes, but they will also have a chance to win the crowd back over if they put in a solid, Champions League-worthy performance. But what does that really mean?

Better Finishing

Against United we created enough chances to win two games, but our finishing was absolutely awful. Jack Wilshere’s miss is still playing over and over in my mind in a kind of “What would have happened if that had gone in?” moment and if I was Wenger I would have kept all even mildly attacking players behind after training in the past few days for extra finishing training.

Dortmund will not give us as many chances at goal as United did, and we need to be scoring at least one tonight to get a point, because I don’t trust our defensive set up at the moment. Especially if Wenger insists on playing Monreal as a centre back.

Which needs us quite nicely to…

Solid Defending

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Quite simply the defensive fragility Arsenal have been startling. Playing Chambers on the right of defence and Monreal in the centre means that more often than not we’re left with one of the worst aerial challengers in our team trying to fend off high balls into the box and one of our strongest defensive players half-way up the pitch looking to support the attack. Dortmund will not play nicely if we give them the opportunity to expose our frailties, and it will not make for pretty viewing if we don’t defend more staunchly.

This isn’t going to work, especially when playing Aaron Ramsey, one of the best attacking and creative midfielders to come out of Britain in a while, as a defensive holding midfielder. It almost makes me wonder if Wenger has even looked at the players at his disposal, or his stubbornness is so strong that he can’t admit that Ramsey and Wilshere should swap positions.

So what do you guys think? Will we turn around our recent performances and give the fans something to cheer? Or collapse spectacularly in another “I told you so” display?

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