Alexis Sanchez is expected to feature for Arsenal against Norwich in the Premier League, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could return.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed Alexis Sanchez has picked up a minor hamstring problem ahead of the Premier League encounter with Norwich on Sunday, but is hopeful the Chile international can still play.
Sanchez put in a sublime performance in the 3-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb in on Tuesday, scoring twice and setting up Mesut Ozil's goal, and Wenger is hopeful the former Barcelona man can once again show Arsenal the way at the weekend.
"Alexis had a little hamstring alarm. I will assess that later," Wenger said at a news conference.
"But it might not be the right time to rest him."
Meanwhile, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could make his comeback after a spell on the sidelines due to injury. Theo Walcott is continuing his recovery but is not ready to return just yet.
"Maybe Oxlade-Chamberlain could be back in the squad [for Sunday]," Wenger added.
"Walcott will not be ready for Sunday. He goes through a few [more] steps.
"He will have some tests Thursday. He started running again with no reaction and we hope he will be successful.
"And everyone who played Tuesday is available."
Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by West Brom last weekend and Wenger is desperate to make amends against Norwich.
"West Brom was a bad result, it was unfortunate but we will look to put that right."
Arsenal could have Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott available for the critical Champions League group clash with Olympiakos but both Olivier Giroud and Hector Bellerin have suffered fresh injuries, according to manager Arsene Wenger. The Gunners kept their European hopes alive with a comfortable 3-0 win over Dynamo Zagreb which combined with Bayern Munich's win over the Greek champions sets up a final day shoot-out for a place in the last 16.
A two-goal win for the north London club will see them progress to the knock-out stage and become the first side since Galatasaray in the 2012-13 season to qualify from the group having lost their first two games. The challenge facing Wenger's men is set to be eased by the return of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott for the game, who have been nursin respective hamstring and calf problems.
However, Arsenal's injury list which was added to during the defeat to West Bromwich Albion after Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta picked up knee and calf blows, has swelled further after the Champions League success. Giroud and Bellerin were withdrawn in the second half and Wenger says both players were nursing minor fitness issues.
"Giroud had a little problem with his ankle at the weekend so I decided to give him breather," the Arsenal boss told reporters at a post-match press conference. "Hector Bellerin he had a groin problem just before so I had to take them off. We have five days to recover. I tried to compromise a little bit [with the substitutions] by taking off Giroud and not taking a risk with Bellerin.
"Back for Olympiakos, apart from tonight, Chamberlain certainly and Walcott has a chance. [Coquelin's injury] is what we feared basically, if we are being realistic it will be 12 weeks. No [surgery] it is medial ligaments."
Arsenal bounced back from the 5-1 hammering by Bayern to give themselves hope of progressing to the knock-out phase for a 13th straight season and Wenger says he never gave up hope despite the heavy defeat to the Bundesliga champions. "I felt we had a chance," the Frenchman added.
"The result on the night [in Bayern] was bad for us. Olympiakos won in the last minute in Zagreb and that made it very difficult. It depended on us as much as Bayern and we come out with at least a chance. We can make right what we didn't earlier.
"What you want is to come out of the game tonight with a chance to qualify and we need to do the job. Bayern needed to do the job. We did it well and it gives us chance but I believe we can do it."
Arsene Wenger is convinced Theo Walcott can become a prolific striker after the England international scored the opener in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Stoke.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench to grab the Gunners' decisive second goal five minutes from time as Stoke suffered an eighth consecutive defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
But Wenger was most encouraged by the way Walcott netted his first goal of the campaign when he latched onto a long ball forward from Mesut Ozil and fired home in the 31st minute.
Despite the Gunners missing a raft of chances, Wenger was pleased with many aspects of the victory and believes Walcott, usually deployed as a winger, will benefit from the boost in confidence he will gain from playing regularly in the central striker's role.
“Theo can find little pockets of space, which he did against a very organised, compact Stoke defence,” Wenger said.
“He scored a very good goal which needed technical quality. Theo gets chances.
“I believe he can become a prolific goalscorer because every game you see how many chances he gets so the bigger belief he has that he can score then the more he will score.”
Wenger was equally delighted with his back line after a second clean sheet in a row.
“I believe we have stabilised our defence,” he said. “We did not concede against Newcastle and now Stoke, that bodes well for the future.
“The centre-halves looked very strong, (Laurent) Koscielny was outstanding, Gabriel played well and (Francis) Coquelin played very well in front of them to so we had a good triangle in the middle there.”
Arsenal now face Dynamo Zagreb in the Champions League and then struggling English champions Chelsea within a week and Wenger hinted he wouldn't use Walcott up front in both games.
“We play a game every three days and while it helps for a striker to keep playing and scoring for their confidence, you can't keep playing the same player every three days, especially up front,” he said.
The victory kept Arsenal in touch with early leaders Manchester City, but Wenger still wants his team to be sharper in front of goal.
“We are looking first to play well against Dynamo Zagreb. It is important to not lose your first game in the Champions League, then we will see what we can do against Chelsea,” he added.
“It is only five games but when you lose your first home game it was difficult to predict where will be now.
“We played the football we wanted to play and created plenty of chances. If you want to be critical you can say there was too big a difference between the amount of chances we created and the goals we scored.”
Meanwhile, Stoke manager Mark Hughes blamed the international break and transfer turmoil for his side's woeful showing.
“There has been a turnover of players, said Hughes. “It has been stop-start and that affected us.
“The international break has affected us. We had that edge taken away perhaps by the travelling, although it didn't seem to affect Arsenal too much.
“We have two home games coming up and a whole week with our players to get some good work in with the guys.”
Hughes tried to focus on the few Stoke bright spots and added: “Jack Butland once again showed what an outstanding goalkeeper he is.
“As the season progresses he may not as many opportunities to be man of the match but at the moment he has had too much to do.
“We let (Asmir) Begovic go to Chelsea because he had Jack and it was important he knew we had trust and confidence in him.
“The only other positive on the day was the reintroduction of Bojan, which I'm delighted to see him back.
“On a day of negatives they were two positives for us.” – AFP
Dinamo Zagreb produced one of the most famous nights in their history when they claimed a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League at the Maksimir Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Dinamo Zagreb 2 Arsenal 1
Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal gives hosts the lead
Giroud sent off for two bookings in first half
Fernandes doubles Dinamo's advantage
Walcott scores late consolation
Match Summary
After dominating possession, and creating a few chances, early in the match, Arsenal still went behind in the 24th minute when winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a touch unfortunate to put the ball in his own net when it rebounded back to him off keeper David Ospina, who made a good save from a Josip Pivaric shot.
The English side's task got more difficult when striker Olivier Giroud was sent off five minutes before half time for a second bookable offences.
Chilean forward Junior Fernandes doubled the home team's advantage in the 58th minute when he was left unmarked in the box from a corner and powered a header past David Ospina in the Arsenal goal.
Substitute Theo Walcott pulled a goal back for the Gunners with 11 minutes remaining but it wasn't enough as the home team celebrated a famous win at the Maksimir Stadium.
Match Report
Arsenal, as expected, had plenty of possession early in the game and created the game's first real chance in the ninth minute when striker iroud forced a good save from Zagreb goalkeeper Eduardo with a powerful header from a Santi Cazorla corner.
The English side should have gone a goal up in the 18th minute when a winger Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a good run down the right wing and crossed to Giroud, who headed against Eduardo's left-hand post and also shot the rebound wide from inside the six-yard box when it looked easier to score than miss.
The Croatian champions, who were content to sit deep and play on the counter-attack, offered no real threat going forward in the first 20 minutes but took a shock lead in the 25th.
El Arbi Soudani picked up the ball in midfield and played a defence splitting pass to the over-lapping left back Josip Pivaric, who drew save out of David Ospina but the rebound went in off the back-tracking Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Arsenal took another blow when Giroud got himself sent off five minutes before halftime for accumulating two bookings, which is inexcusable for a forward at this level. Trying to re-organise themselves, Arsenal, with 63 per cent of the ball, went into the break a goal behind.
The hosts should have doubled their lead two minutes into the second half when Soudani found himself unmarked at the back post but headed a corner against the post with Ospina well beaten.
Dinamo were almost made to pay two minutes later when Eduardo came out and smothered an attempt from Mesut Ozil after the German international was sent clear by Kieran Gibbs.
Despite Arsenal continuing to see a lot of the ball, even with a man down, forward Junior Fernandes sent the crowd at the Maksimir Stadium into raptures when he gave the hosts a two goal cushion in the 58th minute.
The Chilean was left unmarked at the near post and executed an easy header from a corner past a helpless Ospina in goal.
Although the Gunners pulled a goal back 11 minutes from full time, through a neat finish from Walcott after being put clear on goal by Alexis Sanchez, Zagreb held on for a famous win.
Arsenal were pathetic, Chelsea almost majestic, with Barcelona not able to put up their usual artistic show against Roma as Wednesday night gave us more thrills and spills in the Champions League
The Gunners had one of those "what is going on" European nights again, while Chelsea put their English Premier League misery behind them with some Champions League joy, with defending champions Barcelona starting their campaign with a draw against Roma.
One of the other pre-tournament favourites – Bayern Munich – picked up a bit of a laboured win over Olympiakos, but it will be Arsenal, and another ridiculously poor display, which will take the Wednesday part of Matchday 1 headlines.
Arsenal made a bright start in Zagreb, with Olivier Giroud forcing a really good save from Eduardo off a header, but the moment Dinamo decided to apply the press on the away team's players, the game changed.
It is amazing how easily Arsenal fold when they are pressed by teams – strange, considering the plethora of technically gifted players in their side – and so it proved again.
A couple of warning shots from distance showed the home side were not going to be pushovers, and then Dinamo found the opener on 24 minutes. El Arbi Hillel Soudani slipped in a pass to Josip Pivaric, who found himself through on goal after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completely switched off.
Pivaric's strike was saved by David Ospina, in goal for the first time this season, with Petr Cech given a rest, but the ball ricocheted off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had by then come back to try and make up for his initial error.
Arsenal were stung by that goal from Dinamo Zagreb, but they continued to struggle to create chances at the other end, and their night was compounded on 40 minutes when Giroud saw red for a second bookable offence. His first yellow was given a little earlier for dissent and Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan, already angered by those choice words from Giroud, which led to the first yellow, had no hesitation in brandishing a second one for a rather soft foul, it must be said.
In the English Premier League, or indeed any experienced referee from a more from a bigger league, would have given the player a talking-to rather than showing a red card, but this referee, probably, allowed his emotions get the better of him and sent a disbelieving Giroud off. Of course, Giroud only has himself to blame for getting that first yellow card, unnecessarily getting under the referee's skin, but the sending off, as a whole, was pretty harsh.
Dinamo went into halftime with that 1-0 and lead and extra man advantage, but most of the Gooners out there would have hoped the second 45 was time for an Arsenal reply.
Not quite. After a decent start from the away team, the match was done and dusted on 58 minutes as Junior Fernandes headed home at the near post off a corner.
Theo Walcott, who likes to score goals in Croatia, got a late consolation, scoring a typically-Walcott goal by getting in behind the defence, latching onto a pass from Alexis Sanchez, and slotting the ball home, but a consolation is all it was, leaving Arsene Wenger and Arsenal his team to ponder over another pathetic European night.
In the other Group F match, Bayern Munich won 3-0 away to Olympiakos, with Thomas Muller scoring a freak goal off a cross from the right, before Mario Gotze made the points safe in the 89th minute, with that man Muller again netting, this time from the penalty spot, in stoppage time.
At the Stadio Olimpico, Barcelona opened the scoring courtesy one of the MSN trio. A clipped pass from Jeremy Mathieu found Ivan Rakitic in behind the Roma defence, with the Croatian then crossing the ball for Luis Suarez to head home on 21 minutes.
After the opening goal, you felt this match would only go one way – Barcelona's – but Roma fought back ten minutes later, with Alessandro Florenzi netting a sumptuous the equaliser. The midfielder ran down the right wing, before deciding to take a shot from just inside the Barcelona box. The ball flew over Marc Andre Ter Stegen, before banging off the underside of the crossbar and smashing into the net.
At Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho was a happy man again, as Chelsea ran-out comfortable winners over Maccabi Tel Aviv, with the Brazilian playmakers Willian and Oscar getting the first half goals, before Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas added a third and fourth in the second half.
Eden Hazard missed an early penalty, after Willian was fouled by Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, but the Brazilian made it 1-0 to the home side on 15 minutes as his freekick evaded everyone and crept into the bottom corner.
Just before halftime, former Chelsea defender Tal Ben Haim conceded another penalty, bringing down Diego Costa, and Oscar stepped up, instead of Hazard, to bury the ball into the back of the net. The icing on the cake was added by Costa in the 58th minute and Fabregas late on.
Results: Group E: Roma 1-1 Barcelona; Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 Astana.
Group F: Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 Arsenal; Olympiakos 0-3 Bayern Munich.
Group G: Chelsea 4-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv; Dynamo Kiev 2-2 FC Porto.
Group H: Valencia 2-3 Zenit St. Petersburg; Gent 1-1 Lyon.
English side Chelsea put their domestic woes on hold with a comfortable 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in their Champions League Group G opener on Wednesday night.
Despite Eden Hazard ballooning a penalty early on, Brazilian midfielder Willian gave the Blues an the lead after 15 minutes when his free-kick from deep evaded everyone in the box and bounced into the back of the net.
The last kick of the first half saw Oscar slot home from the spot as Jose Mourinho’s men headed into the half-time break with a two-goal advantage. The reigning EPL champions added two more in the second half as Diego Costa, on for the injured William, finished expertly from a pin-point Cesc Fabregas cross, before Fabregas himself added a fourth late-on to secure the 4-0 victory and the perfect start to Chelsea’s continental campaign.
Fellow English side Arsenal suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, the Gunners playing the majority of the game with 10-men after striker Olivier Giroud’s sending off 40 minutes into the encounter. A late Theo Walcott consolation was not enough as Arsene Wenger’s men brought home no points from their trip to Croatia.
Holders Barcelona earned a point in the Italian capital after a 1-1 draw with AS Roma, Luis Suarez heading in the opener before a wonder-strike by Alessandro Florenzi drew the hosts level as they secured a point against the five-time champions.
Thomas Muller was at it again for Bayern Munich, his brace helping the Bundesliga club to a 3-0 win against Olympiacos, with Mario Gotze also recording his name on the scoresheet.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen trounced BATE Borisov 4-1, Dynamo Kiev and Porto shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw; Belgian club Gent managed a 1-1 draw at home with French opponents Olympique Lyon while Spanish side Valencia suffered a surprise 2-3 home defeat to Russian club Zenit St Petersburg.
All Wednesday night Champions League results:
Group E: Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 BATE Roma 1-1 Barcelona
Group F: Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 Arsenal Olympiacos 0-3 Bayern Munich
Group G: Dynamo Kyiv 2-2 Porto Chelsea 4-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Group H: Valencia 2-3 Zenit Gent 1-1 Olympique Lyon
There is likely to be a shared sense of sympathy when Southampton and Manchester United convene on Sunday. It's safe to assume that both teams' thoughts will turn to a mutual, but absent, friend, the cruelly injured Luke Shaw.
Sometimes reunions are rancorous affairs. When they are not, it can be because alumni are celebrated when they are unable to damage their old employers.
Southampton's supporters chanted Rickie Lambert's name on Saturday, but only after the West Bromwich Albion striker, whose 117 goals make him the 10th highest scorer in Saints' history, had been substituted. The reception might have been different had Lambert opened his Albion account, rather than labouring ineffectually.
It would be no surprise if Shaw -- whose double leg break means that he, for a second consecutive season, is denied a first return to St Mary's in United colours -- is the subject of appreciative chants from both sets of fans. The greater dilemma for the Saints faithful is how to treat another of their old boys, Morgan Schneiderlin.
United possess two players who, in their different ways, symbolise Southampton's capacity to produce players and sell them on for big returns. Shaw emerged from the academy that also yielded Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Calum Chambers. Schneiderlin was a stalwart of their League One days. The left-back and the midfielder joined United in successive summers, with Southampton banking £52 million.
These players may be trailblazers. They have become the common denominators between clubs who were polar opposites in 2014, when United were English football's biggest spenders and Southampton brought in the most money. Transfers between the teams could become annual occurrences.
United's August bid for Sadio Mane was odd, not least because Southampton denied an offer was submitted, but it indicated an interest in the Senegalese player. Sunday's meeting offers a chance to compare wildly different players: the man who, although he played as a No. 10 in Eindhoven on Tuesday, normally occupies the right-wing spot in Louis van Gaal's side, and the one who could have done so.
Juan Mata is the anti-Mane, far slower, more measured, a left-footer who will wander infield. Mane can accelerate outside a full-back. When Van Gaal talked of the qualities he admired in Pedro, the target who instead joined Chelsea, he mentioned speed and creativity. He could have been talking about Mane.
The Southampton man, like Eden Hazard and David Silva, was a rare attacking midfielder or winger to record at least 10 Premier League goals last season. Yet his potency is allied with inconsistency. He can play off the cuff, in a way that Van Gaal's overly rigid United rarely do and that, seemingly, the Dutchman tries to coach out of his players.
Unlike Victor Wanyama, who was omitted from August's win over Norwich because of concerns about his state of mind, Mane has showed few signs that he is unsettled. Yet the fact that both were targeted, the midfielder by Tottenham and the winger by United, shows Southampton's status. Their business model has drawn admiration, but the top six seem to see them as a feeder club.
Over the past 16 months, they have banked £130m for Dejan Lovren, Lambert, Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Chambers, Shaw and Schneiderlin, all from Liverpool, Arsenal and United. To put that into context, it is more than many clubs have received in transfer fees in histories dating back to the 19th century.
That total could swell beyond £200m next summer. Besides Mane and Wanyama, Jay Rodriguez attracted admiration from Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City in his 17-goal breakthrough season of 2013-14. If, after a 17-month injury layoff, he can display the same form, that interest may be renewed. And if it is, Southampton could be in a position to have sold an entire outfield team -- and in their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, (Clyne, Chambers, Lovren, Shaw; Schneiderlin, Wanyama; Mane, Lallana, Rodriguez; Lambert) -- to a handful of elite clubs over just three seasons.
Could Morgan Schneiderlin's sale to Manchester United prove to be the departure that dooms Southampton?
Yet with each departure, the question grows more pressing: is it possible to carry on selling and prospering? Southampton did last season, confounding predictions -- including some magnificently misguided prophecies of relegation -- to record their highest Premier League finish of seventh, and a team record points total of 60. Graziano Pelle replaced Lambert seamlessly, Mane and Dusan Tadic stepped in for Lallana, Toby Alderweireld looked an upgrade on Lovren, Ryan Bertrand brought a verve similar to Shaw's and, in Clyne, Southampton already possessed a better right-back than Chambers.
But if anyone represents a sale too far, albeit one Southampton could not prevent, it may be Schneiderlin. Statistics from WhoScored.com indicate his importance last season: he averaged the second-highest number of tackles per game in the Premier League, he was the midfielder with the second-highest average of interceptions per match, he ranked ninth in the division for passes per appearance, and he was the 11th most accurate distributor. On top of all that, factor in his energy. Try replacing that.
In many ways, it is unfair to assess Southampton's attempts to fill his shoes. Jordy Clasie, his designated successor, made one Europa League appearance and has since been injured. The next holding midfielder recruited, Oriol Romeu, looked rusty as he was booked in each of his first three games.
While they have since recorded three consecutive clean sheets in the league, it was understandable that Southampton began the campaign by leaking goals with uncharacteristic regularity. Only Chelsea recorded a better defensive record last season. Then Alderweireld, whose exit was overlooked because he was only borrowed, excelled and Jose Fonte's terrific form was an outlier in what has otherwise been a respectable but unremarkable career. Yet in the twin physical forces of Schneiderlin and Wanyama, they had perhaps the best shield afforded to any centre-backs in the division.
Even when fit, the smaller Clasie will not offer the same power. The possibility that Wanyama will follow Schneiderlin's lead by hoping for a move one summer and getting it the next suggests Southampton's defensive record could deteriorate in successive seasons. Their recent shutouts -- against 10-man Norwich and rather impotent Watford and West Brom teams -- may not prove that a superb structure is still in place.
United can testify to the excellence of the policemen who used to be stationed in front of the back four. Schneiderlin and Wanyama snuffed them out when Ronald Koeman's side won 1-0 at Old Trafford in January. If the lesson learned was to sign Schneiderlin, it weakened Southampton. They emerged enhanced from last year's exodus. It will be still more impressive if the same can be said of them again this season.
Richard Jolly is a football writer for ESPN, The Guardian, The National, The Observer, the Straits Times and the Sunday Express.
The Gunners went behind after a Josip Pivaric shot was saved by keeper David Ospina but rebounded in off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Giroud was then sent off for a second booking when he fouled Ivo Pinto before Junior Fernandes headed in for Dinamo.
Theo Walcott superbly slotted in to give Arsenal hope but the home side nervously held on for the win.
Walcott had scored a hat-trick at the same Maksimir Stadium for England against Croatia in 2008 but, despite pulling one back, he could not repeat such heroics.
Dinamo held on to extend their unbeaten run to 42 games as they won against an English top-flight side for the first time in the Champions League.
Oh dear Olivier
France striker Olivier Giroud has been criticised for not being clinical enough in front of goal and he only added weight to that argument against the Croatian champions.
He had a free header from a corner palmed away by Dinamo keeper Eduardo and, when he saw another effort come off a post, Giroud failed to sidefoot in the rebound as the home stopper smothered his point-blank shot.
The Arsenal forward's frustration got the better of him when he was booked for dissent after his reaction to the referee blowing for a foul against him.
It proved crucial as he was then sent off for a second bookable offence when he caught Pinto with a late challenge after 40 minutes, as Arsenal's failure to sign a striker in the summer transfer window again came into focus.
Behind the eight ball
Arsenal lost their opening game of last season's Champions League when they were beaten 2-0 by Borussia Dortmund, but recovered in a group also comprising Galatasaray and Anderlecht.
This time they face a more difficult task to make it past the group stages and keep alive their hopes of winning the competition for the first time.
The Gunners host Olympiakos next before home and away fixtures against German giants Bayern Munich.
Bayern are one of the favourites to win the competition and beat Olympiakos 3-0 as they moved to the top of Group F.
Caught out on the counter attack
Dinamo might have been the home team but they employed the tried and tested philosophy of playing on the counter-attack to try to beat Arsenal.
The Croatian champions soaked up Arsenal's pressure and, after the Gunners failed to take their chances, took the lead.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made six changes from the side which beat Stoke, including dropping keeper Petr Cech and holding midfielder Francis Coquelin to the bench.
Wenger might have had Saturday's game against Chelsea, who beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in their opening Champions League game, in mind but the move backfired.
Villain of the match
Manager reaction:
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told BT Sport: "The first yellow [for Giroud] is a foul for us and the second is an accident. They got away with obvious fouls many times. We have to take it on the chin.
"We have enough games to come back. We have to focus to win our next home game and I'm sure we can beat Zagreb at home."
Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic: "I was secretly hopeful we could perform a miracle as I knew how my boys had been working, living and concentrating on the task. I was not afraid it would be a catastrophe for us as I knew we would be physically up to their level.
"This is a huge reason for us to celebrate."
The stats you need to know
Dinamo Zagreb were winless in 15 Champions League games proper before beating Arsenal, with their last win against Sturm Graz in September 1999 (3-0).
Arsenal are playing in the Champions League for the 18th consecutive season, only Real Madrid (19) can boast a longer current streak.
Croatian champions Zagreb have never previously qualified from the group stage in their four previous attempts.
Last season, Zagreb became the first team to go through a Croatian top-flight campaign unbeaten.
What next?
Arsenal next play Chelsea in the Premier League in the 12:45 BST kick-off this Saturday.
Arsene Wenger has said Theo Walcott can become a prolific striker after the England international scored the opener in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Stoke.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench to grab the decisive second goal five minutes from time as Stoke suffered an eighth consecutive defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
But Wenger was most encouraged by the way Walcott netted his first goal of the campaign when he latched onto a long ball forward from Mesut Ozil and fired home in the 31st minute.
Despite Arsenal missing a raft of chances, Wenger was pleased with many aspects of the victory and believes Walcott, usually deployed as a winger, will benefit from the boost in confidence he will gain from playing regularly in the central striker’s role.
“Theo can find little pockets of space, which he did against a very organised, compact Stoke defence,” Wenger said.
“He scored a very good goal which needed technical quality. Theo gets chances.
“I believe he can become a prolific goalscorer because every game you see how many chances he gets so the bigger belief he has that he can score then the more he will score.”
Wenger was equally delighted with his back line after a second clean sheet in a row.
“I believe we have stabilised our defence,” he said. “We did not concede against Newcastle and now Stoke, that bodes well for the future.
“The centre-halves looked very strong, (Laurent) Koscielny was outstanding, Gabriel played well and (Francis) Coquelin played very well in front of them to so we had a good triangle in the middle there.”
Arsenal now face Dynamo Zagreb in the Champions League and then struggling English champions Chelsea within a week and Wenger hinted he wouldn’t use Walcott up front in both games.
“We play a game every three days and while it helps for a striker to keep playing and scoring for their confidence, you can’t keep playing the same player every three days, especially up front,” he said.
