Arsene Wenger’s men lose 2-1 in their first Champions League game
Things got a whole lot worse for English teams in the Champions League tonight as a third lost with Arsenal losing 2-1 in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb.
Manchester City and Manchester United both suffered defeats last night to Juventus and PSV Eindhoven respectively, and all eyes were on London this evening as duo Arsenal and Chelsea took centre stage.
Ahead of the game in Croatia, Arsene Wenger made drastic changes with; David Ospina, Mathieu Debuchy, Kieran Gibbs, Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud coming in.
Wenger clearly had one eye in mind for Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off against Chelsea, but he may live to regret his squad choice.
Match Summary
After a comfortable start from the visitors, it was them who should have taken the lead but a Giroud effort hit the post before he smashed the rebound at the ‘keeper.
Then came to sucker-punch for Arsenal as they went 1-0 down when Oxlade-Chamberlain turned the ball into his own-net following a save from Ospina.
It then went from bad to worse for The Gunners as Giroud was sent off for a second-bookable offence. The Frenchman received his first caution for descent and then got his marching orders when he brought down a player unfairly.
It then just took 13-minutes in the second half for Dinamo to double their lead and it came from a corner. Junior Fernandes was left unmarked when he thundered a header home past Ospina.
Arsenal were given a glimmer of hope 12-minutes from time when Theo Walcott slotted home, but it was a night that ended in defeat.
Up next for Arsenal is Olympiakos at home, while Dinamo take on Bayern Munich.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
