Champions League 
/ Lee Dixon / 22 November 2011 / Leave a Comment 
The pace man and the hitman. Theo Walcott congratulates Robin van Persie after they combine for another goal.
"This should be a pretty tight game between two sides who are probably quite evenly matched at this moment in time but Arsenal’s extra experience of these type of matches in this competition plus home advantage should get them over the line. Draw/Arsenal in the HT/FT market is also worth including in our portfolio of bets for this match."
Red-hot tipster Lee Dixon looks ahed to Arsenal's match against a confident Borussia Dortmund side. The Gunners should win and qualify for the knock-out stages but it won't be easy...
I'll do well to match my tipping effort at the weekend where all four of my recommended bets on Norwich v Arsenal won .
If you'd placed £10 on each you would have returned a profit of £91.50. But the good news is that with a third of the season gone, we've seen enough of this 2011-12 version of Arsenal to know what to expect of them. The key of course, is knowing how to profit from that knowledge.
Match Odds
If Arsenal had beaten Marseille a few weeks back like they should have, they would have been pretty much home and dry as regards making the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
But Arsene Wenger decided that captain, talisman and top scorer (he probably drives the team bus, too) Robin van Persie needed a rest and only gave him half an hour in that match. Without him, the Gunners never really got going and drew 0-0. They can't afford any more slip-ups here and I'd be amazed if RVP doesn't start this one, especially after scoring two more at the weekend (shall I mention I tipped that as well? No? OK).
Borussia Dortmund could be excused for really fancying their chances of causing an upset here and going into the final round of fixtures with it all to play for. After all, they're fresh from beating league leaders Bayern Munich at the weekend.
This should be a pretty tight game between two sides who are probably quite evenly matched at this moment in time but Arsenal's extra experience of these type of matches in this competition plus home advantage should get them over the line. Draw/Arsenal in the HT/FT market is also worth including in our portfolio of bets for this match.
Over/Under 2.5 Goals and Correct Score
In the last 13 matches Arsenal have played in all competitions, only twice has the over 2.5 goals barrier not been broken. Interestingly, those two 'anomalies' occurred against the same team - Marseille, whom Arsenal beat 1-0 in France before that aforementioned goalless draw. So we know that matches between those two produce low-scoring games but also that as a general rule Arsenal's games are high-scoring. That's hardly surprising.
In van Persie they have one of the most in-form strikers in Europe and the team continues to adopt an attack-minded philosophy. At the other end, they remain suspect. The goal they conceded away at Norwich was defending the likes of which I last saw in a school playground. I don't expect the floodgates to open because there's so much at stake in this match but 'overs' is a confident selection and 2-1 would be my idea of the most likely scoreline.
To Score
I'm not going to come up with any new and original ways of explaining why backing Robin van Persie to score is a good bet, other than to say: look at his scoring record in 2011 and his record in his last seven matches- ten goals no less. Back him again.
Theo Walcott was lively on Saturday and is due a goal, having created plenty of chances in recent weeks for others to score. He's available at [3.3] and looks a solid bet.
2 pts Back Arsenal to win @ [2.16]
1 pt Back Draw/Arsenal @ [6.0]
2 pts Back Arsenal to win 2-1 @ [10.0]
2 pts Back Over 2.5 Goals @ [1.96]
Back Robin van Persie to score at anytime @ 2.1
Back Theo Walcott to score at anytime @ [3.3]
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