Arsenal will all but guarantee their place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday night if they beat Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have won four of their previous six meetings and, despite disappointing trips to Italy, are close to securing a top-eight finish in the first leg of Europe’s premier league. This means they go straight into the round of 16, avoiding a potentially demanding play-off clash.
Arsenal won all three home matches in this year’s competition and will be big favorites for the visit to Dinamo. The Croatian giants have somewhat recovered from their 9-2 defeat at the hands Bayern Munich during the opening round of league stage fixtures, securing two wins and two draws from their next five outings that leave them in contention to qualify for the knockout stages.
Here 90 minutes a guide to a key European clash in North London.
Arsenal – Dinamo Zagreb head-to-head results (all times)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Arsenal |
Dinamo Zagreb |
|---|---|
|
Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa – 18.1.25 |
Dinamo Zagreb 3-2 Varaždin – 22.12.24 |
|
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham – 15.1.25 |
Lokomotiva 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb – 12.14.24 |
|
Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Man Utd – 01.12.25 |
Dinamo Zagreb 0-0 Celtic – 12.10.24 |
|
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 01.07.25 |
Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Slaven – 12.06.24 |
|
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 01.04.25 |
Hajduk Split 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb – 12.01.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports Ultimate, Discovery+, Discovery+ App |
|
United States |
Paramount+, ViX |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Mikel Arteta will be cursing his recent injury luck as William Saliba adds his name to an extensive absentee list. The Frenchman missed the draw with Aston Villa at the weekend with a hamstring problem could have been missing for at least a few weeks.
Saliba joins fellow defenders Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the treatment room, but Riccardo Calafiori is available again after recovering from his own injury.
Of course, Bukayo Saka is still out for the Gunners and they will miss the creativity and ingenuity of their talisman on Wednesday and beyond. Gabriel is Jesus out until the end of the season with a torn ACL sustained in the third round of the FA Cup, but Ethan Nwaneri has returned to form and should be part of the squad for the game.
Arsenal predicted the line-up against Dinamo Zagreb (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli.
Former Golden ball winner Fabio Cannavaro took charge of Dinamo and will oversee his first appearance for the Croatian side on Wednesday. He will look to make a positive impression on the club’s fans with a spirited performance in North London.
However, the Italian will be without striker Bruno Petković in Dinamo’s first competitive match of the calendar year, and the striker will not be absent due to a muscle problem. He is joined on the side by Petar Sučić.
Dinamo Zagreb predicts the lineup against Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Nevistić; Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Mmaee, Pierre-Gabriel; Ademi, Stojković; Cordoba, Baturina, Pjaca; Kulenović.
Arsenal’s perfect record at home in the Champions League should have remained unsullied by Dinamo’s visit to the Emirates. Even with the growing list of injuries plaguing Arteta’s squad, they should have no problem dispatching a team that nearly conceded double figures in Bavaria in September.
Surrendering a two-goal lead to Villa on Saturday it wasn’t the best warm-up for Wednesday’s encounter, but Arteta should be able to rest and rotate while avoiding a slip. Dynamo may be rusty after the long winter break and there could be teething problems at the start of Cannavaro’s reign that Arsenal can exploit.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
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