Arsenal v Celtic: Neither van Persie nor Arshavin start

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Date Time C Opponent F A R S
26 Aug 7:45 PM CL Celtic (H) 3 1 Win
Arsenal v Celtic: Neither van Persie nor Arshavin start

Arsenal take on Celtic in the final leg of their Champions League qualifying round tie. The Gunners lead 2-0 from the first leg at Celtic Park but manager Arsène Wenger has warned his team against being complacent, even though the advantage is clearly with them.

The manager's team selection seems to have one eye on the match against Manchester United at the weekend, but perhaps it's also to give players such as Andrey Arshavin and Robin van Persie a little bit of a breather. The duo do not start for the Gunners tonight, with Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner leading the attack.

The line-up also seems to be a reversion back to 4-4-2, with a midfield quartet of Abou Diaby, Alex Song, Denilson and Emmanuel Eboue.

UPDATE: It is 4-3-3, with Diaby also being part of the attack. Arsenal lead 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Eduardo, which was harshly awarded to Celtic.

Starting XI

Manuel Almunia
Bacary Sagna
William Gallas
Thomas Vermaelen
Gaël Clichy
Abou Diaby
Alex Song
Denilson
Emmanuel Eboue
Eduardo
Nicklas Bendtner

Substitutes

Vito Mannone
Robin van Persie
Aaron Ramsey
Mikael Silvestre
Jack Wilshere
Andrey Arshavin
Armand Traore

Earlier speculation with regards to Ramsey replacing the injured Fabregas seem to be inaccurate, with the Welsh international on the substitute bench. A midfield trio of Diaby, Song and Denilson, is preferred.

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Written by Jonathan Chong on Wednesday, August 26, 2009

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