Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb predictions: Hosts gunning for comfortable win
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- Arsenal head into Matchday Seven sitting third in the Champions League standings
- Dinamo Zagreb are 24th, a point clear of both Paris Saint-Germain and Stuttgart
- Recommended bet: Arsenal -2 handicap
Arsenal will be aiming to bounce back from recent domestic setbacks when they welcome Dinamo Zagreb to the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Gunners have won just one of their last five matches – a run that takes in Premier League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup fixtures – but they have been perfect on home soil in Europe this season and can secure their place in at least the knockout phase play-offs with a victory.
Dinamo are also battling to make it through to the next stage, but by the time they kick-off on Wednesday it will be exactly a month since they were last in competitive action.
Team news
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is dealing with a lengthy injury list, with centre-back William Saliba becoming the latest player to be ruled out with his hamstring problem.
Saliba joins Ben White (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Gabriel Jesus (knee) and Ethan Nwaneri (muscle) on the treatment table, while Riccardo Calafiori is also unlikely to feature as he battles to overcome a muscle issue.
Dinamo are expected to be without two of their key players, with Croatia internationals Bruno Petkovic (adductor) and Petar Sucic (unspecified) both likely to be sidelined.
The Croatian champions will have a new man in the dugout, with Italy's 2006 World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro having been named as their new manager late last month.
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The stats
Arsenal have won all three of their home matches in this season's Champions League, keeping a clean sheet in each of those successes against Paris Saint-Germain (2-0) Shakhtar Donetsk (1-0) and Monaco (3-0).
The Gunners are yet to lose a home Champions League game under Arteta, registering seven wins and a draw in such matches, with their last defeat in the competition at the Emirates coming against Bayern Munich in March 2017.
Dinamo head into Matchday Seven sitting in the final knockout phase play-off spot and both their victories in this season's competition have come on the road at Salzburg (2-0) and Slovan Bratislava (4-1).
The Blues have not played a competitive fixture since December 22 and they have only won one of their last eight matches across all competitions.
This will be the fifth competitive meeting between these two sides, with Arsenal winning three of the previous four, including both clashes in north London.
Prediction
Arsenal may be struggling for wins and dealing with a lengthy injury list, but this is a game that Arteta will expect his side to win with something to spare.
The Gunners have been unbeatable and impenetrable on home soil in this season's Champions League and it is hard to see Dinamo, who are likely to be lacking match sharpness and without two key players, being able to find a way through.
Dinamo have won twice on the road in this season's Champions League, but those results came against two of the poorer sides in the competition, and when they faced a team of a similar calibre to Arsenal – Bayern Munich – they were thrashed 9-2.
While a repeat of that scoreline is unlikely on Wednesday, Arsenal can win this one with something to spare and, in doing so, seal their place in at least the knockout phase play-offs.
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