bu maç bursaspor'u bir şekilde yakından ilgilendiriyor. zira, bursaspor dün rangers'dan 1 puan aldı ve grubu 1 puanla tamamladı. şu anda bursaspor'dan daha az puanı olan ve 0 çeken 2 takım var. biri zilina biri de partizan. bu akşam oyanacakları maçları kaybetmeleri durumunda bursaspor şampiyonlar liginde en azından 2 takımdan daha iyi bir performans çizmiş olacak...
andrey arshavin is confident arsenal fc will secure the home victory required against fk partizan to guarantee their last-16 berth, saying: "we know we have to win and we will do it."
fresh from playing a role in russia's successful bid to stage the 2018 fifa world cup, andrey arshavin is certain arsenal fc will once again be hosting uefa champions league football in the spring.
for the gunners to guarantee a spot in the last 16 of europe's premier club competition for the 11th successive season, arshavin and co must overcome group h strugglers fk partizan. having suffered back-to-back losses to section leaders fc shakhtar donetsk and sc braga, the north london club could be forgiven for feeling a touch apprehensive about their situation. not arshavin, though, who said: "we are not nervous at all. we know we have to win and we will do it."
while arshavin is confident of progress, winning the group is another matter. should arsène wenger's team prevail, to finish top they would require braga to do what no side has done in 52 matches against shakhtar dating back to 22 october 2008: win in donetsk. unsurprisingly, the russian international does not hold out much hope.
"we have no chance of finishing first," conceded arshavin, who opened the scoring and squandered a penalty in arsenal's 3-1 win in belgrade on matchday 2. "braga might get a draw, maximum; shakhtar will be top. before we played at home i said shakhtar and braga were good teams, especially at home, and unfortunately against us they showed that."
in the event of the premier league pacesetters finishing runners-up, they could be handed a tie against one of europe's heavyweights, when the draw takes place on 17 december. such an outcome would not faze arshavin, however. "arsenal always want to win the champions league and if you want to win it, you will meet good teams like barcelona, real madrid, manchester united or chelsea," he added. "it doesn't matter when it will be, whether it's the last 16, quarter-final or semi-final."
on russia winning the right to organise the world cup in eight years' time, the 29-year-old attacking midfielder ‒ who was present at the ballot in zurich last thursday in his role as a bid ambassador ‒ said: "for me it's difficult to talk about england's bid because obviously i supported my country and i'm happy for russia. it will give us a lot of things to do and it will enable the country to improve, not just in football terms."
leading the english top flight by a point and through to the league cup semi-finals, arsenal are enjoying themselves domestically. after partizan, wenger's side face a testing assignment away to second-placed manchester united fc on monday, when, hopes arshavin, the gunners will reaffirm their credentials for a first league title since 2004.
"i saw the table in the newspaper and it said we have the same points [as last season] but other teams had more, and that's why we are top," said the former fc zenit st petersburg favourite. "we are top but in a week's time we have a big game against manchester united and again we have the chance to show everyone we are strong. if we can do it then we are in a strong position."
when cléo equalised in the 52nd minute arsenal's progress was in the balance, but goals from theo walcott and samir nasri removed any doubt.
arsenal fc took a precarious route into the last 16, scoring two late goals to overcome fk partizan after the visitors had set the hosts' nerves on edge.
in the end it was comfortable enough as theo walcott and samir nasri scored inside the last 17 minutes to make sure of second place in group h and a knockout phase berth for the 11th successive campaign. but when cléo cancelled out robin van persie's first-half penalty, arsenal were in danger of elimination if sc braga could improve on what was at that point a 0-0 scoreline at fc shakhtar donetsk.
in their first two home games the gunners were three up against braga inside 34 minutes and led by two at the interval against shakhtar. facing the team who had long been assured of finishing bottom, they might have expected to indulge in another goal spree, but they were forced to show patience as the opening 28 minutes came and went without any threat to vladimir stojković's goal.
arsenal's passing lacked its usual accuracy and partizan were encouraged to build some promising moves of their own, with almami moreira taking up good positions outside the hosts' penalty area and threatening to cause problems.
only an awkward header which marouane chamakh dropped onto the roof of the net had roused the arsenal faithful. then a jabbed cross from alex song found the partizan defenders struggling to plug the gaps, and as van persie took possession he was clipped by marko jovanović. the dutchman dusted himself down before slotting in his first goal of the season.
the belgrade club had managed only one goal in five previous uefa champions league games – a penalty – and arsenal perhaps fell into the trap of thinking they had done enough. their efforts to add a second before the break were unspectacular and soon after the restart nasri's attempt from denilson's cross was rash and high.
punishment swiftly followed as moreira created space for cléo. ignoring the option of a one-two, the brazilian let fly and his shot diverted off sébastien squillaci before looping over Łukasz fabiański.
stung by the setback, arsenal upped the pace and stojković was forced to tip over van persie's free-kick. joy for arsenal followed as substitute walcott seized on a poor headed clearance to smash the ball in and four minutes later nasri added a third. bacary sagna was sent off late on, but arsenal had done enough.
1. fc shakhtar donetsk...6...5...0...1...12...6...6...15 2. arsenal fc...6...4...0...2...18...7...11...12 3. sc braga...6...3...0...3...5...11...-6...9 4. fk partizan...6...0...0...6...2...13...-11...0
