Liverpool (H)

Tomorrow is without a doubt the biggest test of the season for us so far, disappointing cup results need to be put behind us as we take on third place Liverpool who have been playing well this season. Mainly due to the racist up front partnering Sturridge, 2 of the leagues top 3 scorers. 
 
Liverpool is always a test and we've been disappointing against them in the last few seasons so now is the perfect time to put that to bed and give us some breathing space from them at least. With a number of teams on our coat tails it's important that we take the points from these big games. 

After watching our performance in the League Cup on Tuesday I'm not particularly confident about a result and I know it'll be a different team but there were some big names in the side that took on Chelsea and we just didn't look interested. The vital point when taking on Liverpool is the midfield, if we can shut off the supply to Suarez and Sturridge then we'll give them some problems. However with no Flamini someone is going to have to put in a defensive shift in order to keep them quiet.

So we're without Flamini and the rest of the bunch that are still injured, aside from that I think we'll see Arteta partner Ramsey in the holding role and he'll have to be at the top of his game if we're to get anything out of this match. Cazorla will take up his role on the left with Wilshere on the right and Ozil sitting behind Giroud.

In contrast Liverpool are set to see Coutinho return and the Brazilian will be a handful for us on and off the ball. They are still without Agger meaning Skrtel will sit in the middle of the defence with Toure and Sakho either side. That said I think Cazorla will cause Toure some problems, Toure is a good defender but age is starting to take its toll. The tricky Spaniard may have some joy down the left while Wilshere will have his work cut out against the powerful Sakho.

Tomorrow is the start of 4 tough games with Dortmund and United the following week and then an in form Southampton the week after. In terms of league games if we can take 7 points from our next 3 then I think we'll be in a healthy position going into the busy December period. We will be judged on the result tomorrow irrelevant on the result so best we turn up. COYG!

Borussia Dortmund (H)

What a weekend for us. A sensational 'Arsenal goal' and a 4-1 battering of Norwich to keep up top of the league by 2 points. Ahead of both Chelsea and Liverpool. I could write a whole post about the match or even just the first goal but I won't as there is no rest for the wicked as tonight we take on Borussia Dortmund in a huge Champions League tie.

Arsene Wenger (who turns 64 today) has said that this is an 80% game so if we win we are 80% there and I think he's correct. A win tonight would put us top on 9 points and potentially one win away from qualifying as group winners. But this will be a hard game against a team that less than 12 months ago were at Wembley in the final. They similarly to us have lost just one game this season and are a point behind top of the table Bayern Munich.

The big blow for us is that Mathieu Flamini is out of the game after picking up a concussion against Norwich at the weekend. Flamini has been a revelation since we got him back on free and has provided the back four with some much needed support sitting just ahead of them. Without him tonight our back line will need to be on song against the likes of Reus and co. Dortmund are a team that have a lot of pace on the wings and centrally so our positioning will be key to keeping them at bay.

We certainly have the attacking qualities to break them down despite their impressive defence. With players from all over the pitch scoring we have enough outlets to find the net and it makes us versatile. With Ozil, Wilshere and Cazorla likely to make up our trio sitting behind Giroud we can hold the play up but move quickly. Giroud has a big job tonight holding the ball up but if he does it as well as he has been we shouldn't worry about that.

Dortmund's threats going forward are countless. They have pace in Reus and Aubameyang whichever one they decide to use (probably Reus) but they have a more technical goalscorer in Lewandowski. Mkhitaryan is their Ozil if you will creating the moves and also finding the net every now and then. He can be a handful and we'll have to watch him closely.

It's going to be a very close game tonight and we're playing a top, top team. To get anything we'll have to be at our best. If we win it's a statement of intent and will put us in a very healthy position. COYG!