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Arsenal look to continue their winning start to Champions League Group B when they take on Ajax in the Amsterdam ArenA on Tuesday night (September 27).
The Gunners had to rely on a last-gasp Dennis Bergkamp winner against Swiss minnows FC Thun in their opening game, and go to Holland with a lengthy list of potential absentees.
Bergkamp is among those set to miss out through injury, while Thierry Henry’s absence due to a groin problem continues. Midfielder Gilberto Silva is the latest injury worry, as the Brazilian picked up an ankle injury during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with West Ham at Upton Park (September 24).
All of which could leave youngsters Cesc Fabregas and Matthieu Flamini to run things in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield. It will be a big ask for the pair, particularly the less experienced Flamini, as the Gunners continue to struggle to fill the void left by the departed Patrick Vieira. On the plus side, Robert Pires has a good chance of being fit to take his place in the starting line-up after hobbling off during Monday’s 2-0 home win over Everton (September 19)
Defender Philippe Senderos is also doubtful, but the recent return to the side of Sol Campbell should off-set this loss.
Manuel Almunia, who was beaten by Ferreira’s freakish lobbed cross at Highbury against FC Thun, continues in goal with first-choice Jens Lehmann still suspended in Europe. Robin Van Persie’s red card against the Swiss means he too misses out, with Quincy Owusu-Abeyie in line to figure up front alongside Jose Antonio Reyes.
Arsene Wenger’s men have come up against Ajax in the group stages of the Champions League before, with both games in the 2002/03 competition ending in draws. A similar result here would not be disastrous, nor is it particularly unlikely. Ajax have lost only once at home to English clubs in European competition, when Tottenham Hotspur recorded a 3-1 win in 1981.
Arsenal’s record against Dutch opposition in Europe shows only three wins from ten outings, but it has been 33 years since they last lost to a team from the Netherlands. You guessed it, it was Ajax who turned the Gunners over in that affair, a 1972 European Champions Cup encounter at Highbury which the Dutchmen won 1-0.
Neither Arsenal nor Ajax have displayed the kind of league form with which they are accustomed so far this season. Arsenal’s goalless draw at West Ham left them seventh in the Premiership table, fully 11 points behind runaway leaders and current champions Chelsea. For their part, Ajax currently lie a disappointing fifth in the Dutch Eredivisie, but are coming off the back of a 4-1 win over Roda JC at the weekend.
Though they have been crowned European champions four times, this Ajax side is a pale shadow of the last great team which won the Champions League in 1995. Then, a prolific youth system produced the likes of Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf and former Gunner Marc Overmars to light up that year’s competition. By contrast, it is well documented how little success the north London club have had in Europe’s elite competition, a trend that Wenger becomes more desperate to reverse with each passing season.
Names like Steven Pienaar, Tomas Galasek and Nigel De Jong from the current crop at Ajax hardly compare to that Ajax class of ‘95. Regardless, the Dutch club will still provide tough opposition for an injury-hit Arsenal squad which is arguably in transition in any case. It is again unlikely to be their year in the Champions League, but it would be disappointing if they did not return from Amsterdam with at least a point.  | 
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