Champions League: Nuri Sahin says he nearly joined Arsenal on three occasions

Nuri Sahin will take on Arsenal on Tuesday night having seen a move to the Gunners fall through on three separate occasions.

Sahin will come up against former Real team-mate Mesut Ozil at Emirates Stadium, and admits he is "a great player". "He is a good friend of mine," he added. "If you said he was the only player for Arsenal it would be disrespectful, but you can definitely say he is an important part of the team." Arsenal are leading the way in Group F having won their opening two games, while Dortmund are on three points having won and lost a game. Sahin insists Dortmund have nothing to fear, saying: "During a game, it doesn't matter who is against you. "It is important that we have our match plan and if we manage to have our plan and play accordingly we don't have to worry about individual match-ups."