Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb: Arsene Wenger says Gunners 'ready' to qualify for Champions League knockout stage
The Gunners must win by a two-goal margin in a fortnight's time or a one-goal margin if they score at least three goals
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal will travel to Greece in a fortnight believing that they can complete their escape from Champions League Group F. Their 3-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb, combined with Bayern Munich’s 4-0 defeat of Olympiakos in Bavaria, means qualification is back in Arsenal’s hands.
The Gunners are already guaranteed a place in at least the Europa League. However, they can ensure qualification for the Champions League knock-out stages by beating Olympiakos in the Athens port city of Piraeus on December 9 by a two-goal margin (or a one-goal margin if they score at least three goals).
“It is tough, but we have to believe we can do it, and I believe we can do it,” said Arsene Wenger. “We have one advantage, the task is very clear.”
Midfielder Mathieu Flamini echioed his maanger’s confidence: “We know it will not be easy but we are ready for this kind of game,” he said. An impartial supporting view came from Dinamo Zagreb manager Zoran Mamic. His team lost home and away to Olympiakos but Mamic said: “Arsenal have a lot of quality, a lot more than Olymiakos and I am sure Arsenal will go through.”
“I wanted to come out of the game tonight with a chance of qualifying,” added Wenger. “We needed to do the job and for Bayern to do the job. Both did it well, and we have a chance.
Of last might’s game Wenger added: “It was important not to let them score the first goal. Once we scored the first goal you could see the chances were coming. We played at a good pace. The speed of our movement and passing gave Zagreb a problem.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be back for Greece and Theo Walcott, said Wenger, “has a chance”. But Francis Coquelin, he confirmed, will be out for at least 12 weeks with the medial ligament injury suffered at West Brom on Saturday. Wenger also revealed he had made precautionary substitutions in the case of Hector Bellerin (groin) and Olivier Giroud (ankle).
Arsenal lost at the Hawthorns and Wenger added: “It was important for us to respond straight away after the weekend as confidence can drop very quickly.“ Instead it has been boosted with Bellerin looking ahead to the knock-out stages. “I think we will be a threat when we get out players back. We have a lot of quality, we have a lot of activity up front. and we are defending very solidly.”
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