Arsenal vs. Galatasaray: Match Thread

Arsenal vs. Galatasaray

UEFA Champions League

Tuesday, Dec 9 2014 11.45 PT/2.45 ET/7.45 BT/9.45 CET

Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul

US TV: Various regional Fox affiliates, probably (and replayed on various Fox Soccer channels later in the day) | Worldwide TV info: livesoccer.tv

What a difference a couple weeks makes. After the last round of Champions League games, we were all figuring out the permutations - Arsenal were through, but there was a hope, albeit a slim one, that Arsenal could win the group. Well, that hope does still exist; if Arsenal win today and Dortmund lose, Arsenal are through as group winners. If Arsenal win and Dortmund draw, the two clubs are level on points, and one has to go all the way down to tiebreaker number six on this list to realize that Dortmund will go through as group winners, unless Arsenal absolutely destroy Gala today (by, like, more than seven goals) while Dortmund are held scoreless.

So yes, there's still a chance, and I am all about optimism. Arsene Wenger, however, seems to be taking a more pragmatic stance - in the light of his revelation that Alexis Sanchez is kinda running on fumes right now, and given the other injury worries the team has, Arsene has decided to rest a whole bunch of senior team players and run out a squad of kids with a few veterans mixed in.  Despite my thoughts after the last group stage win that I'd love to see a full squad run out for this game, in order to give Arsenal a shot at winning the group, I'm OK with this approach.

Don't get me wrong - I would love for Arsenal to win the group, but I mostly want as many of them to get healthy as quickly as possible and the only way to do that is to rest guys every now and again. Thanks to the Rolling Thunder Injury Cavalcade this season, key guys like Sanchez haven't had a chance to rest - so take this one and enjoy it, Alexis. Hopefully the kids will do you a solid.