Preview: Arsenal's impressive away record could be helpful
Dating back to their away match at the Allianz Arena last season when they took on Bayern Munich, Arsenal's away record has been very impressive. Just when everyone thought the Gunners would curl up into a ball and let the Bavarian bus run them over, Arsene Wenger's side bounced back and nearly took the match to extra-time.
Since then, the North London side seems to have found a new confidence in themselves.
The Gunners will return to the south of France to take on Marseille Wednesday night in an attempt to claim their 10th consecutive away victory. In order to do that, Wenger was forced to put together a somewhat alternative squad due to a number of injuries.
Getting Özil into the squad was a big boost, but Arsenal just found out they will be without Santi Cazorla for a few weeks due to an ankle injury. That adds to the already long list of injuries -- Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Yaya Sanogo, Nicklas Bendtner, Tomas Rosicky and Lukas Podolski.
With that said, Le Prof opted to include Chuba Akpom and Isaac Hayden in the team selection.
After their hard fought victory at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, which saw Aaron Ramsey grab two more goals, Wenger believes that his players feel much more confident now.
"Away from home, we have always been audacious," said the French manager. "At home, through some spells, we played with the hand brake on, because we did not have the same confidence," he added.
"Our away record can compare to anyone in Europe. We have always tried to play, even though it doesn't always finish with a win."
As any Arsenal fan will tell you, regardless of how well they play at home or away, if they do not start to fill their trophy case, nothing else will matter.
Getting off to a positive start in the Champions League is something all the Arsenal players, as well as Marseille players will be aware of. But for Giroud, he will be hoping he can continue his incredible goal scoring form against L'OM.
"We will respect Marseille because they've made a good start to the season, and you shouldn't underestimate this team as they have a lot of internationals in their ranks," the French international told reporters.
One of those internationals will be Mathieu Valbuena, who will likely be in the squad Wednesday night.
Without any major injury concerns, Élie Baup can choose to field his strongest squad as the French outfit makes their return to the competition, having missed out last season.
Having won three of their five opening Ligue 1 matches, Marseille finds themselves fourth in the league table. But without a win in their last two matches, the hosts will need to be at their best if they are going to put an end to Arsenal's impressive road streak.
Where to watch the match - live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Olympique Marseille vs Arsenal live on Wednesday, September 18, 2013:
In Canada at 14:45 ET on: Sportsnet 360
Internationally at 18:45 GMT on: UEFA Match Centre (live stream)
In the UK at 19:45 BST on: Sky Go, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports 4/HD
In the USA at 14:45 ET on: Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2Go
Viewers in France can follow all the action on Canal+. If you are not in any of the mentioned countries, be sure to check the Olympique Marseille vs Arsenal match page for full TV listings in your area.
