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Arsenal, Chelsea, Celtic: Graeme Souness on Champions League ties

David Luiz of Chelsea
Image: David Luiz: Souness would not start him at Schalke

Schalke v Chelsea

Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund

I said at the start of the season I didn't see Arsenal as Champions League contenders this season and I've seen absolutely nothing to make me change my mind. They look like Barcelona at their very best against teams like Norwich, who are sitting one point above the bottom three and they'll do that time and time again. Once they get on top of teams they will pass them to death and show they are exceptionally talented. But I've said for the last few years that what Arsenal do is bash up the lesser teams - but when they play against the better teams they find life difficult. They played very well against Napoli in their last Champions League game and it may sound like I'm on a downer against Arsenal but I thought the Italian side were very poor on the night. It's a mark of how poor the Italian league is right now that Valon Behrami, who was a failure at West Ham, is one of the bigger players for Napoli. I felt they were a reflection of how poor Serie A is at this moment in time. However, that result, and the win in Marseille, has put Arsenal in a great position in this group and I don't think they need to win on Tuesday night. To their credit, though, Arsene Wenger's side only play one way at home or away and they always try to win games. Arsenal have great belief at this moment in time and will go after Borussia Dortmund believing they can bash them up. Last year the German side were one of the best teams around, so let's see if they can still be that good. They will be weaker without Mario Gotze, but they still have some very good players in midfield. I enjoyed watching İlkay Gündoğan last year and Poland captain Jakub Błaszczykowski is another fine player, so they have plenty of energy in midfield. That's where this game will be won and lost because Arsenal's midfield are on fire at the moment. I think we'll see goals in the game and I expect a draw - or perhaps an Arsenal win.

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