Arsenal have always flattered to deceive in Europe, even with the mighty 'Invincibles' team. Arsene Wenger will begin his quest to add the one major trophy missing in his resume, when the Gunners visit Montpellier on Tuesday.
Olivier Giroud will take the game with a pinch of salt, having only guided the French team to a surprise League title last season. He will be wearing the colors of Arsenal, however, and knows once the referee blows the whistle all sentiments will be put on the back burner.
"I want to score in every match, but if I score against Montpellier I will keep the celebration small," Giroud said. "That is normal for anybody, for the club and Montpellier fans. It will be out of my respect to my old club
"I'm an Arsenal player and I want to score and to win this game for Arsenal. It will be my first game in the Champions League, so I want to win it. Of course we are playing against Montpellier, but it is an important game for Arsenal and I have to forget it's Montpellier for 90 minutes."
There will be a sense of irony if Giroud scores his first goal for Arsenal, against the side that he scored over 20 goals for last season; an interesting subplot to watch out for no doubt.
The Gunners will be without Wojciech Szczesny for their Champions League opener, after the Polish goalkeeper, who gave away a needless goal against Southampton in his side's 6-1 win during last weekend's English Premier League game, picked up an ankle injury. That will allow Vito Mannone to return, with the Italian putting in solid performances this season.
Abou Diaby will also come back, after he missed the Southampton game due to a minor problem; that means there will be no place for Arsenal's record signing Andrey Arshavin in the 18-man squad.
The Gunners have looked as good as they have for a long time, this year, with new signings Lukas Podolski Giroud and Santi Cazorla bedding into the team very nicely. Mikel Arteta just seems to be getting better and better, with Diaby also putting in some commendable performances in midfield.
What has been most impressive, though, has been the defense, and without putting the writer's curse on it -- Arsenal have looked like a well-oiled machine at the back.
Montpellier have just picked up one win in their five league games and face a crisis of confidence. However, they will know they have nothing to lose against Arsenal, and manager Rene Girard is sure to charge his team up for the challenge.
Wenger, who will serve the first of a three-match touchline ban, will be keen to begin well, and grab an immediate foothold in the Group B, which also includes Olympiakos and Schalke.
Gervinho might get the nod ahead of Giroud for the center forward position, after the Ivorian notched two goals in the last game. With Diaby back, expect Francis Coquelin, who was impressive against Southampton, to return to the bench, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain most likely to start on the right.
It will be interesting to see whether Podolski and Cazorla embrace the European stage like they have done so wonderfully in the Premier League. A lot will depend on the duo, to create the chances as well as find the target.
Arsenal squad: Vito Mannone, James Shea, Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Abou Diaby, Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Andre Santos, Olivier Giroud, Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski.
Fixtures for Tuesday: Group A: Dinamo Zagreb vs Porto; PSG vs Dynamo Kyiv. Group B: Montpellier vs Arsenal; Olympiakos vs Schalke. Group C: Malaga vs Zenit St Petersburg; AC Milan vs Anderlecht. Group D: Borussia Dortmund vs Ajax; Real Madrid vs Manchester City.