Arsenal are still favourites to become one of the teams through to the last 16 but they will want to win their group which means an apparently easier last 16 tie. Here are the five key battles for their match against Schalke from Germany.
Atsuto Uchida v Lukas Podolski
Atsuto Uchida has been playing very well in the heart of the Schalke defence and he was superb in the reverse of this match at the Emirates Stadium last month. He will be up against Arsenal front man Lukas Podolski who will not just play in a central attacking position. Where Uchida is so good is in his refusal to move from his defensive position which means he is perfectly in place to cut off any attempted attack through the middle of the Schalke defence.
Christian Fuchs v Olivier Giroud
Arsene Wenger may choose to go with Olivier Giroud as the main front man with Podolski playing a little wider as the French striker has been in good form for Arsenal. Christian Fuchs is likely to be given the task of man marking him any time he comes anywhere close to the Schalke penalty area. Giroud is a poacher and Fuchs is the ideal man to have on him because he shows great thinking and innovation when it comes to making clearances and protecting the goal.
Roman Neustadter v Santi Cazorla
Neustadter is the player in the Schalke team that provides a little bit of protection to the back four. He does this by getting stuck in and breaking up the play when the opposition have the ball in the midfield. He will have to drop deep at times because Santi Cazorla makes some very advanced runs in Arsenal attacks. If Neustadter can spot each run Cazorla makes early, then he can get himself into a good position to make the tackles and intercept the ball when Arsenal try and feed their play maker.
Ibrahim Afellay v Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna is back in the Arsenal team after a spell out with injury and he has the task of keep Barcelona loanee Ibrahim Afellay quiet throughout this game. Sagna needs to show the winger down the line and resist the temptation to go inside with Afellay if the full back is overlapping down the right flank. If Sagna stays disciplined then he can cut off one of the most influential parts of the Schalke side which means they will be forced to play down the right or narrower through the middle.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar v Thomas Vermaelen
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is the central figure in the Schalke attack. He offers Schalke something different if they need to play the ball long and Thomas Vermaelen needs to make it as difficult as possible for Huntelaar to hold the ball up and keep possession while he waits for support. Expect to see Huntelaar in the poaching role for Schalke which means Vermaelen will also need to stop the defence from dropping too deep.
image: © Jan S0L0
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