After slipping back to 16th place in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund travel to Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday (20:45 CET). “The management are entirely behind the team but the players need to do their bit too. When you are 16th in the table you need to put in blood, sweat and tears. That is our path for the next few weeks,” said sporting director Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Champions League has been a safe haven for BVB
Dortmund have already qualified for the last 16 having won their four games so far and scored 13 goals in the process; a point in London would guarantee top spot. “We won’t be playing for a draw. We are fully aware of the value of the Champions League and anyway, when we have a game we always give it our all,” said Jürgen Klopp ahead of the game.
The Champions League has been somewhat of a safe haven for BVB, who have struggled in the league so far: “If you look at our Champions League performances it suggests we’re one of the best teams in Europe yet we are 16th in the Bundesliga. It’s a strange situation,” said Watzke.
Klopp will have to shuffle his pack in the English capital: Marco Reus (ankle ligament tear) is ruled out, so Ciro Immobile is likely to be given the chance to impress from the start. Central defenders Mats Hummels and Sokratis are also unavailable for the match against the Gunners.
Tough start for Arsenal
Similar confusion is felt in London: Arsenal are already 15 points behind leaders Chelsea, which means dreams of a title challenge have been dashed pretty quickly. A point against Dortmund would see them qualify for the Champions League knock-out stages for the 15th year in a row. Former Germany international Per Mertesacker is looking forward to the game: “It will be a special occasion. I’ll get to see some of my team mates from the World Cup again,” said the centre back, who is likely to start against Dortmund. Mesut Özil is injured; Lukas Podolski is out of favour at the moment.
Mertesacker expects a tough game, despite Dortmund’s lowly position in the table: “It won’t be easy. Dortmund are a strong team. We need to focus for the entire game, not just 60 or 70 minutes.”
After slipping back to 16th place in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund travel to Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday (20:45 CET). “The management are entirely behind the team but the players need to do their bit too. When you are 16th in the table you need to put in blood, sweat and tears. That is our path for the next few weeks,” said sporting director Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Champions League has been a safe haven for BVB
Dortmund have already qualified for the last 16 having won their four games so far and scored 13 goals in the process; a point in London would guarantee top spot. “We won’t be playing for a draw. We are fully aware of the value of the Champions League and anyway, when we have a game we always give it our all,” said Jürgen Klopp ahead of the game.
The Champions League has been somewhat of a safe haven for BVB, who have struggled in the league so far: “If you look at our Champions League performances it suggests we’re one of the best teams in Europe yet we are 16th in the Bundesliga. It’s a strange situation,” said Watzke.
Klopp will have to shuffle his pack in the English capital: Marco Reus (ankle ligament tear) is ruled out, so Ciro Immobile is likely to be given the chance to impress from the start. Central defenders Mats Hummels and Sokratis are also unavailable for the match against the Gunners.
Tough start for Arsenal
Similar confusion is felt in London: Arsenal are already 15 points behind leaders Chelsea, which means dreams of a title challenge have been dashed pretty quickly. A point against Dortmund would see them qualify for the Champions League knock-out stages for the 15th year in a row. Former Germany international Per Mertesacker is looking forward to the game: “It will be a special occasion. I’ll get to see some of my team mates from the World Cup again,” said the centre back, who is likely to start against Dortmund. Mesut Özil is injured; Lukas Podolski is out of favour at the moment.
Mertesacker expects a tough game, despite Dortmund’s lowly position in the table: “It won’t be easy. Dortmund are a strong team. We need to focus for the entire game, not just 60 or 70 minutes.”
