Two sloppy pieces of defending in the 1st leg in Holland have surely cost Steve McClaren’s Twente their chance of progressing to the group stages; Gallas was unmarked to tap in the first goal from a set-piece mid-way through the 2nd half and in the 83rd minute, Walcott found space on the right and squared it to Adebayor who passed into the net, with the Dutch side’s defence nowhere to be seen.

In Arsenal’s 2 league games since the first leg, they have not particularly impressed; a less-than comfortable opening day 1-0 win over newly-promoted West Brom at the Emirates was followed by last Saturday’s 0-1 loss at Fulham where they offered little going forward and were outplayed by Fulham’s less star-studded midfield.

However, there is some symmetry with Arsenal’s start last season when they also had to qualify for the Champions League group stages; against Sparta Prague, Arsenal won 2-0 away and on the domestic front they started tentatively, drawing 1-1 at Blackburn before narrowly winning 1-0 at home to Man City – the return leg against Sparta Prague at the Emirates finished 3-0.

Bookies expect a similarly emphatic result on Wednesday (they are around $1.20 to win) despite Arsenal’s stuttering start to this season and it is hard to argue against; from 56 games at the Emirates, Arsenal’s record is an outstanding 37-18-1 and they can punish lesser European teams at home, with last season’s 7-0 win over Slavia Prague in the group stage a notable example.

Match Betting Previews 23-25 August 2008 >>> Premiership: Blackburn v Hull - Liverpool v Middlesbrough - Newcastle v Bolton - Stoke v Aston Villa - Spurs v Sunderland - WBA v Everton - Fulham v Arsenal - Wigan v Chelsea - Man City v West Ham - Portsmouth v Man Utd Bundesliga: Dortmund v Bayern - Werder v Schalke - Stuttgart v Leverkusen Ligue 1: Le Havre v Marseille - Lyon v Grenoble - Bordeaux v Nantes Champions League: Arsenal v Twente - Liverpool v Standard - Atletico v Schalke

Twente have very little European experience, this being their first foray in the Champions League, and though they have qualified for the Uefa Cup in the past 2 seasons, they went out at the first hurdle both times; to make matters worse, they will be without their top scorer for the past 5 seasons, Blaise Kufo, who is suspended and without him, any chance Twente had of giving Arsenal something to worry about has almost certainly gone.

Last season’s 3-0 win at home over Sparta Prague kick-started Arsenal’s season and manager Wenger will hoping for a similar performance on Wednesday; Arsenal to win by more than 2 goals is available at $3.10 from Sporting Bet and while it is a risky option, Twente will present Arsenal with numerous chances to score and should offer very little going forward themselves.

BETZINE UK TIP *****

Bet: Arsenal to win on handicap (-2 goals) Odds: $3.10 Stake: 4pts Bookies:Sporting Bet

Match Betting Previews 23-25 August 2008 >>> Premiership: Blackburn v Hull - Liverpool v Middlesbrough - Newcastle v Bolton - Stoke v Aston Villa - Spurs v Sunderland - WBA v Everton - Fulham v Arsenal - Wigan v Chelsea - Man City v West Ham - Portsmouth v Man Utd Bundesliga: Dortmund v Bayern - Werder v Schalke - Stuttgart v Leverkusen Ligue 1: Le Havre v Marseille - Lyon v Grenoble - Bordeaux v Nantes Champions League: Arsenal v Twente - Liverpool v Standard - Atletico v Schalke