Arsenal go into the crucial Champions League encounter against Schalke with their confidence shattered thanks to a deserved defeat at the hands of Manchester united at the weekend.
The Gunners have been poor ever since the international weekend last month, and have fallen to their worst ever start in the English Premier League under Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal will know they will need to put on one of their better performances, if they are to depose Schalke from the top of the Group B table, after the Germans took control following their 2-0 win over the Gunners at the Emirates a couple of weeks ago.
"We are a bit concerned about our recent form," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted. "Our start to the season was very promising, but lately it has been difficult for us. We are not only concerned about the result against Manchester United but the manner in which we lost.
"Schalke are a very good team, we could see that in the first match. We did not have many chances, and while we did not allow them many, they made theirs count.
"We want to respond and the best way to do so is by coming out with a good performance tomorrow. We are still in a good position in the group, but now we need a result after losing at home. We are still confident in defence, we have one of the best defences in the league.
"So if we look at the number of goals we concede, that's not really our problem. We don't have to focus too much on that.
"We need to get back to what we are good at. Our game is about creating chances, finding opportunities and finding the offensive attacking drive we have been lacking. I have a team of great players but at the moment they seem to have forgotten how good they are.
"We have to find our enthusiasm again, the joy of playing and I don't want them to go out on the pitch and worry too much about not conceding."
Arsene Wenger will be without Aaron Ramsey who misses out with a groin injury and joins the increasing injury list which includes the likes of Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski, Kieran Gibbs, Abou Diaby, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tomas Rosicky.
Theo Walcott is also doubtful, having missed training on Monday. "He has been sick overnight (and) didn't practice today so we have to see how he is on Tuesday morning," Wenger added.
Schalke are smarting from their first defeat in nine games at the hands of Hoffenheim on Saturday. Manager Huub Stevens hinted at possible changes, although he might yet be tempted to keep the same starting lineup that did so well against Arsenal.
"I don't know exactly in which formation Arsenal will start," Stevens said. "I don't know who is injured there. We have to focus on ourselves. We will have to think about who will start for us.
"We are not thinking about this weekend's defeat at Hoffenheim anymore. We might change the team to bring in some fresher players. We have left the last Bundesliga game behind us and are focusing on this Champions League match."
Schalke will be without defenders Christophe Metzelder and Kyriakos Papadopoulos.
To watch Schalke vs Arsenal Live Stream, click here
Expected lineups: Schalke: Unnerstall; Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Fuchs; Jones, Neustadter; Farfan, Holtby, Afellay; Huntelaar.
Arsenal: Mannone; Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Sagna; Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla; Walcott, Podolski, Giroud.
Prediction: 3-1 to Arsenal
(**Sports World Report does not endorse the live streaming of the games of the sites it has linked to. It has no control over the content of the website and thus does not warrant that it is error or virus free or free of other harmful components.)
