CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

 

Group H

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Arsenal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shakhtar Donetsk	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Braga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Partizan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal chief executive

Well, it's not the big-name clubs, and in that sense we've avoided some bullets, but at the same time there are some very tricky challenges for us in this group. Shakhtar Donetsk are a team that are on the rise and making very rapid progress. They won the UEFA Cup a couple of years ago and they signed one of our strikers during the summer, Eduardo, and it will be wonderful to see him back – although hopefully not back scoring goals. Braga beat Celtic and Sevilla on the way through so they'll also be very, very difficult. And Partizan are a good quality side. So if we don't focus, if we allow ourselves to be at all complacent, we will definitely slip up.



Sergei Palkin, Shakhtar director

  There are no weak teams at this level, so we have the same respect for all our opponents. Our meeting with Arsenal looks like the one with the most hanging on it. Recently, we bought the striker Eduardo from them and talked about further collaboration in the future. We know Partizan well; we have already beaten them in Europe. Braga are quite a strong club, so we will have to be at our best to win. Our group is quite strong and we'll have some interesting matches to play in the near future.



Fernando Couto, Braga sporting director

 Arsenal are the favourites, but the other three teams all have a chance of qualifying. We have started the season very well. We have a good team and have strengthened with new players, so of course we want to continue to play good football. We managed to qualify against strong opponents in Celtic and Sevilla, and now we want to get through this group.



Cléo, Partizan forward

 Any teams that have reached the Champions League group stage are there on merit, so I only have nice things to say about our opponents. However, our group is not all that strong and we have a chance to achieve something amazing. Of course, Arsenal are the favourites and the biggest name in Group H, and it will be a challenge to play against them. We played against Shakhtar in the UEFA Europa League group stage last season and know their strengths very well. Their attack is better than their defence. Braga have so many Brazilians and I know their fast, skilful style well. The games will be very open.

 

2010/11 UEFA Champions League access list
Association		League Route		Champions Route				Group stage
Rank		Q3	PO	Q1	Q2	Q3	PO
N/A	Holders							TH
1	England		N4					CH RU N3
2	Spain		N4					CH RU N3
3	Italy		N4					RU N3
4	Germany		N3					CH RU
5	France		N3					CH RU
6	Russia	N3						CH RU
7	Ukraine	RU						CH
8	Netherlands	RU						CH
9	Romania	RU						CH
10	Portugal	RU						CH
11	Turkey	RU						CH
12	Greece	RU						CH
13	Scotland	RU						CH
14	Belgium	RU				CH
15	Switzerland	RU				CH
16	Denmark					CH
17	Bulgaria				CH
18	Czech Republic				CH
19	Norway				CH
20	Austria				CH
21	Serbia				CH
22	Israel				CH
23	Cyprus				CH
24	Sweden				CH
25	Slovakia				CH
26	Poland				CH
27	Croatia				CH
28	Finland				CH
29	Lithuania				CH
30	Republic of Ireland				CH
31	Latvia				CH
32	Slovenia				CH
33	Belarus				CH
34	Bosnia-Herzegovina				CH
35	Hungary				CH
36	Iceland				CH
37	Moldova				CH
38	Georgia				CH
39	Liechtenstein
40	FYROM				CH
41	Azerbaijan				CH
42	Estonia				CH
43	Albania				CH
44	Kazakhstan				CH
45	Armenia				CH
46	Wales				CH
47	Northern Ireland				CH
48	Faroe Islands				CH
49	Luxembourg				CH
50	Montenegro			CH
51	Andorra			CH
52	Malta			CH
53	San Marino			CH