Arsenal and their love-in with an injury crisis means the English Premier League side must find a way to battle past Dinamo Zagreb with a thin squad in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Arsene Wenger's men could be without as many as eight first-team players on Tuesday, even if Aaron Ramsey looks like at least making the bench, having returned to training on Monday. However, with Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta joining Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck on the treatment table, Wenger will need to use all of his squad resources.
The biggest blow was, of course, the loss of Coquelin, who Wenger believes will miss at least two months with the knee injury picked up when he slid in for a challenge on Claudio Yacob in the Premier League loss to West Brom on Saturday.
Usually, Wenger could have gone into Matchday 5 of the Champions League planning to give some of his fringe players an opportunity, in the belief that Arsenal are nearly there in terms of qualification to the knockout rounds, but this season is it different.
Arsenal must beat Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates on Tuesday to stand any chance of qualifying for the last 16. Even a win might not be enough, because if Olympiakos hold Bayern Munich in the other Group F fixture at the Allianz Arena, the Gunners will be out in the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in nearly 16 years.
"We are in the moment of a disappointing result in the Premier League and we want to bounce back. We have had two days and you cannot prepare properly with only two days' rest.
"At Zagreb we were caught on the counterattack and played with 10 men, they scored a second. We have a good history in the Champions League and this season against teams where we were favourites we were disappointing."
That performance in Zagreb on Matchday 1, when Olivier Giroud got sent off in the first half, was quite poor, and with the momentum of that big win over Bayern Munich destroyed by, well, Bayern themselves, Arsenal need to find their mojo soon.
Perhaps, they can look back at that impressive 2-0 victory over Pep Guardiola's men on Matchday 3 for inspiration, even if Wenger will know this match will be completely different -- instead of staying back and then hitting on the counter, Arsenal will be the ones with the bulk of the possession.
"I think Arsenal are too good and experienced a team to feel any pressure," Dinamo Zagreb manager Zoran Mamic, whose side have picked up just those three points from the win over Arsenal so far, told UEFA's official website. "They still have a chance of going through to the next stage. They will do everything to win.
"Our plan is to go fully on the counterattack. Look, we will try our best. Arsenal have great control of the play so we just have to be compact and solid in defence and try not to lose too possession cheaply. Moreover, we should try to make them nervous."
An early Dinamo Zagreb goal, and those nerves will hit overdrive.
Where to Watch Live
Get the goals and highlights of the match HERE
The Champions League game between Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb is set to begin at 7.45 pm local time (1.15 am IST, 7.45 pm GMT, 3.45 pm ET). Ten Action is the channel to watch live coverage of the UEFA Champions League match in India, while all the action can also be caught via live streaming online on Ten Sports Live.
Viewers in the UK can watch the game live on BT Sport Europe, while Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb can also be live streamed on Watch BT Sport and the BT Sport App.
The Champions League game will be broadcast live in the Australia, Spain, France, North Africa, Middle East, Thailand and Canada on Bein Sports, while the online live streaming option is on Bein Sports Connect.
Watch Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb live on ESPN3 and Fox Sports in the US, while the live stream option is on FoxSoccer2Go.
Eurosport Asia will show the match live in various parts od SouthEast Asia, including Singapore, while the match can be watched via live streaming online on EuroSport Player. PPTV Sports will broadcast Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb live in China.
