Arsenal may not have won a major trophy for five years, but it is testament to their consistency that they embark this week on their 13th consecutive Champions League campaign. Given that they had to absorb the cost and upheaval of building and moving from Highbury into the Emirates Stadium along the way, that’s no mean achievement – especially since they’ve progressed beyond
the group stage in each of the last ten seasons, reaching at least the quarter-finals in the last three.
Until Manchester United beat them in the semi-final in 2009, they’d been unbeaten at home in the competition for five years, including qualifiers, and in their most recent Champions League campaign Arsenal won all five home games before Barcelona held them to a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals.
It was, of course, Barcelona who defeated them in 2006 in their only previous European Cup final, meaning this tournament remains an itch that the Gunners have not yet managed to scratch. Manager Arsene Wenger believes the squad he has painstakingly assembled is good enough to go all the way this time, containing a good mix of quality and experience. While few outside the red half of north London may share his confidence, Arsenal are generally expected to progress from a group containing Shakhtar Donetsk and Partizan Belgrade as well as Wednesday night’s opponents, Braga.
Wenger has stressed the importance of winning the home fixtures in this competition, and he will be looking for a strong start from his players against the Portuguese qualifiers. The Gunners go into the match unbeaten after four Premier League games, the last three of which they’ve won, including Saturday’s clash at home to Bolton, whom they ultimately dispatched 4-1 after a stern physical test of their mettle.
That result kept Arsenal second in the table behind Chelsea, and should have provided the perfect lift for another European adventure. It’s an adventure that begins in uncharted territory as Arsenal and Braga have never previously played each other, though the Gunners have met their Portuguese rivals Porto home and away three times in the last four seasons. They won four of the six games, drawing one and losing the other, scoring 14 goals and conceding two.
...as Braga make their CL debut
Braga finished one place above Porto last season in Portugal’s Liga, en route to the runners-up spot behind Benfica, their highest-ever finish. But they were beaten 3-2 by Porto on Saturday – their first Liga defeat since going down 1-0 to eventual champions Benfica on March 27.
Domingos Paciencia's side had led 2-1 through goals from Luis Aguiar and Lima, but they couldn’t hold on and Silvestre Varela and Hulk both scored for the Dragons to inflict the first of the season on Braga, who lie fourth in their domestic league table, five points behind Porto.
However, Arsenal will underestimate at their peril a side who claimed their place in the group stage of the Champions League by overcoming first Celtic 4-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round, and then Sevilla 5-3 in the play-off round. Both those triumphs defied the pundits, especially the two wins over Sevilla, and were testament to the strong never-say-die team spirit Paciencia has instilled in his troops.
Although Braga suffered defeats on their two previous visits to north London – losing 3-2 to Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a 2006-07 Uefa Cup tie and 6-0 at White Hart Lane in the same competition in 1984-85 – they may feel more at home at the Emirates. For in 1921 when they changed their club shirts from green and white stripes, they took their inspiration from the Gunners, modelling themselves on Arsenal's distinctive red shirts with white sleeves.
Consequently, since then they have been known as Minho's Arsenalistas (Arsenal from Minho).
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Injuries are again becoming a worrying theme for the Gunners, whose ambitions last season were undermined by a crowded treatment room. Although Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermaelen, who missed Saturday’s Bolton game with an Achilles problem, should be back in contention, substitute Abou Diaby lasted only 13 minutes in that match before being replaced himself after suffering a leg injury.Forwards Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott have both been ruled out until mid-October with ankle injuries, seriously depleting Wenger’s striking options, but midfielder Samir Nasri, who underwent surgery on a minor knee problem on August 18, is back in action.
Danish international Nicklas Bendtner has not played since the World Cup thanks to a groin injury, while an abdominal strain had kept midfielder Denilson sidelined until his substitute appearance on Saturday.
Meanwhile Aaron Ramsey (broken leg) and Emmanuel Frimpong (cruciate knee ligament damage) are long-term absentees.
Summer signings Marouane Chamakh, Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci could all make their first Champions League appearances in an Arsenal shirt.
Possible Starting XI: Almunia; Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Clichy; Rosicky, Song, Fabregas, Nasri; Chamakh, Arshavin.
Braga
Paciencia will be without Elderson and Leandro Salino, who both serve one-game suspensions on Matchday 1. Also sidelined is Quim, who ruptured his right Achilles tendon in pre-season training and is expected to be out until the new year.
Mossoro played in a 4-1 friendly victory over Vizela on 1 September, which was his first appearance since he fractured his right leg against Benfica in March.
But Braga have plenty of options, having brought in no fewer than 17 new faces during the summer, including Lima from Belenenses, Artur (Roma), Hugo Viana (Valencia), George Lucas (Santos), Jose Collado (Villarreal), and loan signings Elton (Vasco da Gama), Luis Aguiar (Dinamo Moscow), Felipe (Corinthians) and Leo Fortunato (Cruzeiro).
Possible Starting XI: Felipe; Silvio, Moises, Rodriguez, Miguel Garcia; Vandinho, LuÃs Aguiar, Alan; Lima, Paulo Cesar, Matheus.
Prediction
Braga showed plenty of reasons why their Champions League baptism is likely to be an eventful one with stunning wins in the qualifying stages, and the sort of nerveless performances they produced against Sevilla in particular will stand them in good stead if they can be reproduced in the competition proper. But in Arsenal they face highly seasoned opponents at this level with an enviable record of successfully negotiating the group stage. Moreover the Gunners have started their season in good form and are determined to realise their undoubted potential this term. It should be an entertaining game, but expect a solid home win.
Arsenal 3-1 Braga 
