
Arsenal will not have an easy run in the Champions League qualifier this season. Despite the fact that the gunners qualified for last year's final, Arsene Wenger expects one of the toughest encounters with Croatia champions Dinamo Zagreb. And, if we look at Arsenal starters for the first away leg, we might agree with him.
Arsenal will not be able to play French super-striker Thierry Henry. More, Ashley Cole was left behind since he was considered unfit
for the game. That will probably give the player some time to think about his Chelsea move. Theo Walcott, the teenager who was picked for Eriksson's World Cup squad this summer, is another missing player for Arsenal.
And, above all that, Wenger announced newly signed Tomas Rosiky on the bench. "Rosicky will be on the bench. I have just made him travel so he can play part of the game but I do not think he is fit enough from the start. He is physically fit because he has good training session with us but he is not fit enough to play in the games yet", admitted Wenger about his player.
The Frenchman agreed that beating Zagreb will not be an easy job, especially since the eastern European side already began their official season. Two games in the Champions League qualifying round and one win in the domestic league made Dinamo get into perfect shape for this game.
"Dinamo Zagreb is a very good team and this is a tricky game for us. They have players from abroad - Brazilians - and it looks like slowly the financial potential of clubs in former Eastern European countries is coming up to our level. I am not worried about the atmosphere at all - I am more focused on the idea that we want to be completely right from the start and can cope with the physical pressure. We have to play to our strengths - skill, passing and speed", concluded Wenger.