Partizan Belgrade vs Arsenal Preview
After a hectic Premier League weekend, Champions League returns to the fore midweek with a wounded Arsenal travelling to Belgrade to face the dangerous Partizan Belgrade.
The English side is still l*****g its wounds after being beaten at their own game in their own backyard. West Bromwich Albion sprung one of the biggest surprises of the weekend when they defeated Arsenal at the Emirates on the weekend.
It was a thoroughly entertaining fixture with the Baggies showing great resolve, technique and organization to see off the Gunners. By defeating the title-aspiring London side, West Bromwich Albion has dented their confidence, which had already been weakened
by Darren Bent’s late equalizer the week before at Sunderland, which resulted in Arsenal coming back from the Stadium of Light with just one point.
The good thing about the timing of the defeat is that Arsenal can gain a measure of revenge by venting their frustration on Partizan. The downside of the defeat is the fact that focus has invariably been cast on the goalkeeping crisis that has plagued the
Emirates in recent years.
Manuel Almunia might have saved a penalty against the Baggies but he was found culpable at least a couple of times casting doubts on the wisdom of manager Arsene Wenger not to dip into the kitty to buy a new keeper. As it is, Almunia after his shaky performance
has been ruled out of the match against Partizan.
Unfortunately, for many mystified Arsenal fans, his deputy remains the often criticized Polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski. Fabianski himself had a wobbly performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup midweek and was at fault for at least one goal.
It is for this reason that many Arsenal fans are treading with trepidation at the prospect of facing the high flying Serbs.
Partizan are currently in red hot form and are at the top of their domestic table by winning five of their last six games. With home advantage, the Serbians will be looking to pressurize the young Polish keeper and the Arsenal side, to get their first points
in the competition.
The home stadium of Partizan is a fortress and can reach boiling point temperatures in terms of fan control. The Serbians were thrown out of the 2007/2008 UEFA Cup for clashes in the stadium, which led to crowd trouble.
As a result, Partizan will even be looking at this game as an image building exercise to show the rest of Europe that games can pass without incident at their home stadium. Arsenal manager Wenger was unconcerned by the prospect of crowd trouble and said
that he was confident that the game would pass without incident.
Currently, Arsenal tops Group H after destroying Braga at the Emirates 6-0, while Partizan Belgrade were late losers against Shakhtar Donetsk and currently lie third due to a better goal difference.
Partizan will be hoping to find chinks in Arsenal’s armour and take advantage of the wobbles that the English side has faced in the Premier League. Coupled with their fragile form, Arsenal will also be without the services of Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie
and Theo Walcott.
It is the absence of such quality that has Partizan captain, Mladen Krstajic dreaming of a famous victory over the Gunners. The veteran defender believes that Partizan can plant themselves firmly on the European map by snatching a famous scalp. He agreed
that despite the loss of some key players for Arsenal, they will still be a formidable opponent, who they will have to overcome with the help of the home crowd.
For Arsenal, this presents a challenge to bounce back from their travails. More importantly for the Gunners’ fans and Polish keeper, Fabianski, it presents a last chance to show that the cruel nickname of “Flapianski” is completely unwarranted and that he
can begin his journey towards to finally realizing his potential.
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