Hamburg v Arsenal

AOL Arena
Wednesday, 13 September
Kick-off: 1945 BST

Arsenal's Thierry Henry has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League game at Hamburg after suffering a foot injury in training on Tuesday morning.

Teenage forward Theo Walcott is back in the squad after being rested and new boy Julio Baptista is also included.

Keeper Jens Lehmann is back from suspension, while William Gallas should continue at left-back, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie up front.

Hamburg welcome back Vincent Kompany and David Jarolim from injury.

But they will have to do without the sidelined Rafael van der Vaart, Timothee Atouba and Juan Pablo Sorin.

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Almunia, Gallas, Toure, Djourou, Eboue, Hoyte, Fabregas, Song, Ljungberg, Gilberto, Flamini, Hleb, Baptista, Walcott, Rosicky, Van Persie, Adebayor.

BIG MATCH STATS

Definitions of terms used:-

Champions League (CL) - only group phase matches and beyond of this competition which began in 1992-93.

Champions Cup/Champions League - all matches played since it began in 1955-56 including qualification matches.

European matches - all matches played in the major European tournaments (Fairs Cup, Uefa Cup, Cup Winners' Cup, Champions Cup, Champions League).

Uefa Super Cups, Intertoto Cups and the old Intercontinental Cup competition are excluded.

Head-to-heads

Hamburg and Arsenal have never met before. Hamburg have hosted English opposition on two previous occasions and won both. In total they have a balanced record against English clubs with two wins, one draw and two defeats.

Arsenal have a good record against German clubs (10 wins, three draws, seven defeats). But the Gunners struggle in away matches against German clubs having won just two of 10. Their last win in Germany dates back to 23 March 2000 when they defeated Werder Bremen 4-2 in the Uefa Cup.

European history

Hamburg return to the Champions League for the second time following their debut in the 2000-01 season. That year, they failed to survive the first phase, finishing third in their group. Hamburg's best result in Europe dates back to 1983 when they won the Champions Cup. In 1977 they lifted the Uefa Cup.

Arsenal's best result in the CL is reaching the final of last year's competition. They lost 1-2 to Barcelona. Arsenal have won two European trophies: the 1970 Fairs Cup and the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup. The Londoners are making their ninth appearance in the CL main competition and their seventh in succession.

Current European form

Hamburg are unbeaten in their last seven European Cup home matches. Their last home defeat dates back to 7 December 2000 when they were beaten by AS Roma (0-3). They have failed to win any of their three home matches in the CL so far.

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six Champions League away matches and kept a clean sheet in the last five. The record for keeping a clean sheet in consecutive away matches is seven and was set by Ajax between 1995-96. Both these clubs entered the third round qualifying stage to secure a ticket. Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb twice (5-1 agg.) whereas Hamburg progressed on goal difference against Osasuna following two draws.

Player and disciplinary info

No players are suspended nor will any be upon receiving a yellow card. Dutchman Nigel de Jong is the most experienced player and most prolific scorer in the CL in the Hamburg squad. He has so far scored five goals in 26 CL matches, all for Ajax. De Jong scored in the away leg against
Osasuna (third round qualifying) to send Hamburg through.

Arsenal's Jens Lehmann will make his 50th appearance in the Champions League if he plays, becoming the fourth player in Arsenal's squad with 50 or more CL appearances.

Other miscellaneous facts

Hamburg are one goal shy of scoring their 300th goal in European Cup football. They have so far netted 299 in 161 matches.

Arsenal's Thierry Henry is fourth on the all-time top scorers list in the Champions League, with 41 goals. He trails Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andriy Shevchenko (both on 43) and Raul (51).

Big Match Stats source: Infostrada Sports

From : BBC Sports