Arsenal Vs Dinamo Zagreb: Important Points In Front Of Eyes

JAKARTA - Arsenal will host Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League group stage continued match on Wednesday evening January 22 or Thursday morning WIB. With a great opportunity to secure a place in the round of 16, this match became very important for Mikel Arteta's team, while Dinamo Zagreb also fought hard to stay in the playoffs.

Arsenal's return to Europe's highest competition this season has been a moment that fans have been waiting for. After several years of absence, the Gunners made the Emirates Stadium a difficult stronghold for opponents to penetrate.

They have been unbeaten at home in this competition since 2017, when they were humiliated by Bayern Munich. In fact, under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal conceded only one goal in their Champions League home game, namely against Bayern in the first leg of last season's quarter-finals.

This season, Arsenal have shown consistent performance by recording three wins at home without conceding. In the final group stage match, they beat Monaco with a landslide score of 3-0. These results brought Arsenal to third place in the standings with 13 points from six matches.

Victory in this match not only ensured their place in the playoffs, but also allowed them to make the club's history with three consecutive wins in the Champions League with a difference of three goals or more.

However, Arsenal came to this game with a bit of pressure after the results were unsatisfactory in the Premier League. In their last game against Aston Villa, they had to settle for a 2-2 draw despite having won two goals. The result saw Arsenal only win one win in the last five games in all competitions, and they are now six points behind Liverpool in the Premier League standings.

Dinamo Zagreb Challenges

Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb came to Emirates with the status of a team struggling to stay in the Champions League playoffs. Fabio Cannavaro's side is currently in 24th position in the standings, only one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Stuttgart. Dinamo's journey in the group stage this season is quite diverse, with two wins all achieved in the away match against Red Bull Salzburg and Slovan Bratislava.

However, Dinamo Zagreb's performance at home is far from satisfactory. In their last two matches in Croatia, they lost 0-3 to Borussia Dortmund and drew goalless against Celtic. In addition, they failed to score despite creating 16 chances in those two matches.

Adding to their difficulties, Dinamo has not played a competitive match in 2025 as their domestic league is still on a winter holiday. They played only two friendly matches, won a 3-1 win over Lech Poznan and drew 1-1 against Jagiellonia Bialystok. With minimal preparation, Dinamo will face tough challenges in London, especially as they lost their previous two visits to the Emirates, including a 3-0 defeat in 2015.

Team Condition

Arsenal had to face this match with a long list of injuries. Their flagship defender, William Saliba, is absent due to a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for several weeks.

Apart from Saliba, Arsenal also lost Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Ethan Nwaneri due to various injury problems. Mikel Arteta will probably return to fielding Jurrien Timber at the center-back position, while Jakub Kiwior will most likely replace Thomas Partey who was less convincing in the previous match.

Di lini depan, Arteta masih memiliki beberapa opsi seperti Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, dan Leandro Trossard untuk memimpin serangan, sementara Martin Odegaard akan menjadi motor serangan dari lini tengah bersama Declan Rice dan Jorginho.

In Dinamo Zagreb's camp, Fabio Cannavaro also faced injury problems, especially the absence of their main striker, Bruno Petkovic, who suffered an injury adductor. Petkovic is one of Dinamo's key players, especially in away matches in European competitions. In addition, the talented young midfielder Petar Sucic is also confirmed to be absent, but Dinamo's squad as a whole is in pretty good condition.

Cannavaro is likely to rely on Sandro Kulenovic as the spearhead of the attack, with the support of creative players such as Luka Ivanusec and Marko Baturina. On the back lines, experienced defenders like Kevin Theophile-Cmen are expected to be able to keep Dinamo's defense from Arsenal's attacks.

Arsenal had a great opportunity to secure victory in this match, given their solid performance at home and fitness problems as well as the lack of competitive preparations for Dinamo Zagreb. However, the visitors cannot be underestimated, especially because they have shown the ability to steal points in away matches in this group phase.

If Arsenal can take advantage of their strong attack and maintain consistency on the back, a win with a convincing score isn't impossible. On the other hand, Dinamo will have to give their best performance if they want to return from London with a positive result.

Prediction Of Lineup

Arsenal (4-3-3):Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Kiwior, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Sterling, Havertz, Trossard.

Dinamo Zagreb (4-2-3-1): Nevistic; Ristovski, Theophile-C fire, Mmae, Pierre-Gabriel; Ademi, Stojkovic; Cordoba, Baturina, Pjaca; Kulenovic.

Score prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb