Van Persie to add to Arsenal's rich vein of form

It seems amazing to think that many had Arsenal down this season as potential strugglers. Manager Arsene Wenger has overseen an undefeated start - 10 wins, 1 draw - and it looks like continuing in Romania on Tuesday night. It remains Wenger's ambition to win the Champions League with Arsenal and this season is shaping up to be a good grounding for his young squad. While doubts remain over their lasting the distance they have the right blend of youth and experienced youth to defeat teams with big reputations and as they are proving in the Premier League they are a side full of goals, so Steaua Bucharest should hold no fears. The Gunners opened their European campaign with a fine 3-0 win in a potentially tricky tie against Sevilla two weeks ago and on paper their trip to Bucharest should be easier. There is no previous form to go on between these two sides as Tuesday night is the first time they have met in European competition. However Steaua have a Euriopean reputation that gives us clues on tonight's fixture. The Bucharest team have played English opponents 10 times and are undefeated in five at home against English clubs. This time round they survived two rounds of qualifying to get into the Group stages but lost their opening fixture 2-1 to Slavia Prague, which saw the resignation of head coach Gheorghe Hagi who has been replaced by Italian Massimo Pedrazzini. Importantly they have not kept a clean sheet in their last 10 Champions League matches, since beating Widzew Lodz 1-0 in October 1996. Arsenal will miss the Champions League experience of Jens Lehmann while Tomas Rosicky is also sidelined but they have too much quality, and firepower, not to come away from Romania with a result. Expect Steaua to keep up the record of not kep a clean sheet and back Robin van Persie to fire Arsenal ahead. Verdict: 1pt scorecast Van Persie first goalscorer/Arsenal win 2-0 @ 22/1 (SportingBet) (Editor's Note: Every matchday this Champions League campaign SportingBet are giving you a chance to win a share of a £10,000 prize pool. This week if your selection is leading at half-time, but goes on to lose, you'll qualify for a share of their £20,000 ROLLOVER prize pool.)