Who are they?
Arsenal are, together with Boca Juniors and Independiente, the only Argentine teams that have never been relegated from the First Division. Although, unlike the other two, they have been in the top flight only since 2002.
Founded in 1957 by the current head of the AFA and vice-president of FIFA, Julio Grondona, they are not a very popular team, but they have already won a Copa Sudamericana in 2007 and this is their second appearance in Copa Libertadores (also 2008).
This time they have qualified after a rule introduced by the AFA last season that determined that the Argentine team with the best performance in the Copa Sudamericana 2011 would automatically qualify for the Copa Libertadores 2012.
They had to go through the playoffs and defeated Sport Huancayo (Perú) over two legs.
What should Fluminense expect?
Fluminense will be against a compact team that will be tough to break down. They will prioritise keeping a clean sheet, even at home.
Arsenal could be dangerous on the break and deadly from set-pieces, especially with Adrian Gonzalez’s accurate shot and Lisandro Lopez’s powerful aerial game. Centre back Guillermo Burdisso, Nicolas’ younger brother, is another threat in the air going forward
Star-man: Lisandro Lopez
After losing top-scorer Mauro Obolo to Velez Sarsfield in the current transfer window, there is no doubt defender Lisandro Lopez is the real star of the team.
Capped by Diego Maradona when he was Argentina manager, Lopez (same name as the Lyon striker, but not related), is a tall, strong centre-back with good technique too. His overhead-kick goal against Olimpo in the last Torneo Apertura became an instant YouTube classic.
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro
Manager Gustavo Alfaro has been at the club before, between 2006 and 2008 -winning the Copa Sudamericana with them- before joining Rosario Central and returning to Sarandí in 2010 and he has had Arsenal playing consistently well.
He tends to build his teams from the back and hit the opposition with quick counter-attacks. He has received some criticism for having a tendency to be a bit negative in his approach, but being at a small club without a lot of pressure from the media, he doesn’t have to answer too many questions.
Realistic prospects for the Libertadores:
They will be expected to reach the second-round by their fans, but in a group containing both Fluminense and Boca, it will be a tough ask. Lost points in home matches will be costly to hopes of an upset.
Arsenal di Sarandí factfile provided by Argentine football journalist Sebastian Garcia, editor of the Mundo Albiceleste football site. Seba also writes for La Media Inglesa (www.lamediainglesa.com) and has covered football at Olympics, Asian Games and Youth Olympics, as well as writing for the likes of FourFourTwo and Placar (Brazil).
Twitter – (Eng) @mundoalbicelest; (Esp) @QPR_ARG
