Partizan Belgrade's captain confident ahead of Arsenal clash
Mladen Krstajic, captain of Partizan Belgrade, has backed his side to cause an upset when Arsenal visits the Serbian capital this week.
Arsene Wenger's team triumphed with a 6–0 win over SC Braga in their first European fixture of the season, but Tuesday's away trip should prove a more difficult test. Arsenal faces the Serbian champions after losing to West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates
Stadium last Saturday.
According to Krstajic, Partizan fancies their chances against the English team following their defeat to Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the last round.
"Against Arsenal, we'll need to give even more than we produced against Shakhtar. We can't afford to let our performance level drop, and I hope we'll manage to achieve a result that will announce our name throughout Europe," he told UEFA's official website.
History is narrowly in favor of Partizan, as Arsenal has won seven, drawn four and lost eight games in Eastern Europe throughout the club's history.
Partizan only managed a 0–0 draw to Spartak Subotica over the weekend, but with the likes of midfielder Sasa Ilic and striker Cleverson Gabriel Cordova, the team will be hopeful of improving in the Champions League.
"It's hard to say who their most dangerous player is," said Krstajic, who, regardless of the age of the Arsenal squad, expects a tough test at Stadion FK Partizan.
"Wenger has a number of good players around 20 years of age. I don't know what lineup they'll put out, but all the players will be tough opponents. We'll need total focus to have a chance of getting into the match. It won't be easy at all. It'll be a tactical
game. It's not only the four or five players at the back who have to defend – the whole team will have to play as one."
Arsenal will make another difficult away trip to Shakhtar on November 3.
Tags: