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A rejuvenated and undefeated Arsenal side welcome Dede Ayew’s Marseille to the Emirates for a crunch tie, the result of which, will have a bearing on the future of both sides in the competition.
The Gunners are taking on a French club for the first time at the Emirates Stadium, with their last encounter against a Ligue 1 side at home being a 2-1 defeat to Auxerre at Highbury.
Coverage of Arsenal vs. Marseille begins at 7:15pm on Adom-TV and Joy Sports on Multi-TV .
Ahead of the game Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on his team to forget Saturday's momentous derby win over Chelsea and focus instead on qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a win over Marseille.
The Gunners' renaissance hit a new peak on Saturday when they stunned Chelsea with a 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge. They have now won eight of their last nine games and are within three points of the Barclays Premier League top four after recovering from a dreadful start.
Wenger's men have saved their best form for Europe this year and they will all but secure qualification from Champions League Group F if they beat Marseille and Olympiacos fail to beat Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
"We have now to forget about Chelsea, carry on, and prove that we can keep doing the job,'' Wenger said."We want just to qualify. Our job is to forget about the last game, take the positives out of it, and focus on the next one just as we had to do when we lost 8-2 to Manchester United.''
Marseille are enjoying something of a renaissance after a tough start to the season and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda is eager to build on a run of three wins in domestic league and cup competition.
"It's been a run of three or four games that we've been much better in,'' the OM skipper told reporters in quotes reported on his club's website.
"The results have been there as well so everything is a little easier at the moment and hopefully it lasts. When we win we're happy and there is less attention paid to our mistakes.''
The stopper is wary of Van Persie's threat after his exploits at Stamford Bridge.
"We know Arsenal's qualities and he is very important to Arsenal's team. But there are other players around him who are also dangerous.
"He scores a lot of goals, we know it won't be easy but similarly we know what to expect. We'll be ready.''
TEAM NEWS
Arsene Wenger may have doubts concerning the right-back spot for this fixture, with Johan Djourou and Carl Jenkinson fighting for a place in the starting line-up.
Meanwhile, Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere are both out with ankle injuries and are not expected to play any part in this clash. Andrey Arshavin could come in place of Gervinho if the latter needs rest following the exertions at Stamford Bridge, where the Gunners defeated Chelsea in a sensational 5-3 victory.
Didier Deschamps may put forth an attacking line-up to take revenge on Arsenal for the defeat they suffered at home, while hoping to boost their prospects of qualifying for the next stage of the Champions League.
Mathieu Valbuena is likely to fall back a bit when Marseille are starved of possession, otherwise he should play a more attacking role with Loic Remy and Jordan Ayew proving to be the primary threat in the attacking third of the pitch. The latter returns after serving a tournament suspension, while Rod Fanni also comes back into the fold after being banned.
Stephane Mbia is their only absentee after suffering a broken metatarsal in August.
The Champions League is LIVE on Joy Sports and Adom TV every Tuesday all season long.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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