In the wake of a disappointing draw with Hull City on Saturday, EPL club Arsenal travel to Belgium to take on the Belgian Champions Anderlecht in their Group D champions League match.

The 2-2 draw on Saturday left many fans depressed and worried for the lack of ambition in the club. But manager Arsene Wenger will look to put all the bad omen behind as the Gunners face a ‘do or die’ moment in Brussels with a must win situation at their hands. ‘Birthday boy’ Arsene has some good news on the injury front with Welsh wizard, Aaron Ramsey, who came off the bench on Saturday, returns to the starting line-up whereas Theo Walcott has returned to full training after a serious injury left him out of action for 9 months.

But the Gunners are still short of numbers as the long list of injuries continued to pile with summer signing David Ospina the latest to join the treatment table. With Wojciech Szczęsny suspended, 22-year-old Emiliano Martinez, will be keeping the posts as rookie stopper makes his Champions League bow. Key defender Laurent Koscielny is still a doubt for the Gunners who are also without the services of Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Mathieu Debuchy, Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby. English defender Calum Chambers is available after serving a domestic ban.

Arsenal will be boosted by the fact that Anderlecht have not won in eight Champions League games and Arsene’s men will be looking shoot down the Belgians if they are to finish in the top two slots of the group

Arsenal go into this as ‘favourites’ but there are problems at the back and the central midfield area that could hamper the Gunners’ chances in the upcoming fixtures of the tournament. Even though Arsenal are not upto the standards of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or a Chelsea; this tie is fairly poised in the London side’s favour with the quality in the squad.

Scoreline – 3-1 to the Arsenal

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Arsenal Football Club have began their Champions League journey with a loss to German powerhouse, Borussia Dortmund but the North London team will be looking to add points in the tally when they take on Turkish opponents, Galatasaray in the Group D clash at the Emirates.

Arsenal was lucky to lose only 2-0 in Dortmund after being comprehensively outplayed by the Bundesliga outfit and already look strong favourites to top the group.

Even though the Gunners are playing at home, a win here would be a fitting reply to the critics who have doubted the Gunners’ capability of survival in the Champions League. But all is not merry in the Arsenal squad. Manager Arsene Wenger, who celebrates 18 years at the helm, has seen injuries mar the squad. Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, Mikel Arteta, Olivier Giroud are host of players been ruled out.

Creative midfielder, Jack Wilshere was also a doubt after taking a knock against Tottenham on Sunday but has recovered while, right back Mathieu Debuchy remains to be out for three months. But despite the array of injuries in the team, Wenger has options available with Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla to breathe down the opposition’s neck.

Galatasaray, who also began their Champions League journey with a dull draw against Anderlecht, have not been anywhere near as consistent. They have yet to beat an English opposition on away soil and have to rely on the likes of Wesley Sneijder and forward Burak Yilmaz to deliver the goods upfront. They also reached the first knockout round last season but have started the recent campaign in an ordinary fashion.

Arsenal will need to shrug off the pre-EPL result and start afresh against a valiant Turkish opponent in Galatasaray. The Gunners must fire in the goals if they are to progress further but the Turks can string in a surprise, if all goes well for them.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Flamini; Sanchez, Ozil, Cazorla, Welbeck.

Galatasaray: Muslera; Versel, Chedjou, Semih, Telles; Dzemaili, Melo, Selcuk; Sneijder; Burak, Pandev.

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