AW "I have a lot of respect for Dortmund; they play very fast, very offence very similar to us! I still don't understand why I am banned! Mertesacker is a calming presence!” Mertesacker "I still have goosebumps from Saturday!" Szczesny determined to silence Piszczek, Lewandowski & Jakub! Gotze, Alcantara for Jan!

• Arsenal will be without Aaron Ramsey for tonight’s opening Champions’ League group stage match against Borussia Dortmund.

The Gunners take on the reigning German Bundesliga champions at Signal Iduna Park but they will face Jurgen Klopp’s men without the Wales captain as he has an ankle injury sustained at training today.

"I think Aaron Ramsey has been very influential in our team since the start of the season, but it is a good opportunity to show that we have now a big squad, and that we can cope with it," said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

"We have of course three midfielders out with (Abou) Diaby, (Jack) Wilshere and Ramsey and it's many but we still have hopefully a strong midfield tomorrow."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he has great respect for Champions League opponents Borussia Dortmund.

Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Thomas Vermaelen are amongst those ruled out to play a team that Wenger believes is cut from the same cloth as his.

"I have a lot of respect for the team," he said of Dortmund on Monday. "They play very fast, very offence very similar to Arsenal.

"It will be a good match tomorrow. We will play offensively, they will play offensively so it will be a very attractive match.

"Dortmund have very good technical qualities, they are well organised.

"Although they have not started the season well, they will be confident for the match tomorrow and they will give everything in the first 20 minutes.

"With the fans behind them, it will be a very attractive match.

"Football in Germany is in a good way. They play good football in Germany, especially here in Dortmund."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger remains angry over his Champions League ban.

The Frenchman was initially suspended for the Gunners' play-off first leg at home to Udinese on August 16, but UEFA extended that to two games after they found he breached the terms of the ban during the 1-0 win.

Asked whether he was given a fair trial by UEFA, he said: "No, because I didn't do anything wrong.

"I just did what I was told I could do. I asked before the game what I could do.

"If I wanted to do something forbidden, I would not have shown it openly.

"I still don't understand why I am suspended. I didn't understand why I was suspended the first time."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has explained the reasoning behind signing Per Mertesacker.

Mertesacker impressed on his Arsenal debut against Swansea at the weekend and is expected to continue alongside Laurent Koscielny for Tuesday’s trip to Borussia Dortmund.

“Usually, I look at the quality of the player and not at his size,” he said. “Because we play a more technical game, I choose smaller players.

“But he is a calming presence, he has over 70 caps with Germany so he has experience and people forget he is only 26 years old.

“He must get used to the pace of the game. It is an issue because he was surprised by that but overall he has qualities we need in our team.

“He reads well the game, has good communication with the other players and he knows how important it is to communicate. That will play a big part in our season.”

• Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker admits he is still beaming after making his Premier League debut on Saturday.

The German centre-half signed with the Gunners from Bundesliga club Werder Bremen on transfer deadline day, making his bow in the 1-0 win over Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium, and he was still reveling today.

"I still have goosebumps," Mertesacker said.

"We are in the motherland of football. It was something special.

"I have sensed that everything is five per cent more intensive, the tackles, the tempo," he said in comparison to his former league.

• Per Mertesacker is delighted to be playing for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

The former Werder Bremen captain made a winning debut against Swansea City.

"Wenger is a huge personality," he said.

"He trusts me 100%, gave a short, clear speech. In training we practise a short, precise passing game. That will help me improve."

Mertesacker admitted he has to get used to a more intensive game in the Premier League.

He added: "I have sensed that everything is five per cent more intensive, the tackles, the tempo."

• Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is determined to silence the wind-up merchants after conceding eight goals at Manchester United.

Szczesny, 21, whose team suffered an 8-2 hammering at Old Trafford 15 days ago, was grateful for a clean sheet in Saturday's 1-0 win over Swansea.

Days earlier, while on international duty, he received stick from right-back Lukasz Piszczek, striker Robert Lewandowski and midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski, who all play for Borussia Dortmund.

Asked whether there had been some banter with the trio, Szczesny said: "There has been a little bit, I'm not going to lie. I think two of them will be playing on Tuesday and the one who was the loudest, Jakub, will be on the bench.

"They've been taking the mickey out of the 8-2 defeat but they can't get into my head. I will be focused. I hope after the game I will be the one who comes out on top with the banter."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he's an admirer of Borussia Dortmund star Mario Gotze.

Wenger believes that the youngster will be the man to look out for when his side travel to the German champions for their Group F opener.

“He is the provider,” Wenger said. “He is the one who had the best assists in Germany and is the most dangerous player.

“He links well with his strikers and is the player we have to keep quiet. The best way to keep him quiet is for us to attack.”

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is keeping a close check on Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

Wenger will step up surveillance on Thiago in the coming weeks before trying to land the 20-year-old in January or next summer.

The Gunners boss is such a fan that he asked for first refusal on the £25million-rated star as part of the deal that saw Cesc Fabregas move to the Nou Camp.

The Catalan giants were unwilling to make that deal but that will not stop long-term admirer Wenger swooping again.