UEL Group Stage: Qarabağ FK v Arsenal | October 4, 2018 17:55 BST | BT Sport

[yybecause]

full support to Unai for taking strong squad.
Qualify first, then play young/fringe team, as Wenger did.
we are too big of a club to risk losses/draws in such games, instead of winning easily and building positive momentum around the club.
that doesnt mean we should play the strongest team, but keep it professional and serious and play good squad.

 

[Sniper Mik]

What is it with Arsenal players and illnesses?

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

What is it with Arsenal players and illnesses?

Nothing probably? The amount ratio of players that get sick vs players who do not get sick is probably same as the ratio overall in the world.

 

[Fewtch]

What is it with Arsenal players and illnesses?

Code word for “training ground bust up”.
First Özil then Iwobi and now Auba. Emery has lost the dressing room

 

[Slartibartfast]

U.S. Europa League TV schedule for Thursday:

Astana vs. Rennes, 10:50 a.m. EDT, Univision Deportes
Qarabag vs. Arsenal, 12:55 p.m. EDT, Galavision
Real Betis vs. Dudelange, 12:55 p.m. EDT, UniMas
Milan vs. Olympiakos, 12:55 p.m. EDT, Univision Deportes
Spartak Moscow vs. Villarreal, 3 p.m. EDT, UniMas
Frankfurt vs. Lazio, 3 p.m. EDT, Galavision
Standard Liege vs. Akhisar, 3 p.m. EDT, Univision Deportes

All other games available on the Univision Deportes app.

 

[Jackie_Treehorn]

American media reporting Mkhi isn't travelling on his own decision over security concerns. #1: Who's telling the truth? Is he allowed in on an exemption from the Azerbaijani government or not? #2: I understand the bad blood between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but why the hell doesn't UEFA step in and force Qarabag to provide security? Jesus.

 

[Slartibartfast]

American media reporting Mkhi isn't travelling on his own decision over security concerns. #1: Who's telling the truth? Is he allowed in on an exemption from the Azerbaijani government or not? #2: I understand the bad blood between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but why the hell doesn't UEFA step in and force Qarabag to provide security? Jesus.

He could have gotten an exemption, but chose not to go. The same thing happened when Dortmund played at Gabala in 2015. The exemption was granted, but Micki chose not to go due to the political climate. No reason to take unnecessary chances for a group stage game. Maybe if Arsenal gets to the final (which happens to be in Azerbaijan) he'll go. But Arsenal should be able to handle this without him.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

What is it with Arsenal players and illnesses?

Humans I suppose.

 

[Sniper Mik]

Humans I suppose.

I don't know Arsenal players seem to have a greater proclivity to falling sick. Maybe my perception is skewed by the number of times Özil falls sick but it'd be good to know some stats about this.

 

[The_Playmaker]

Just read Iwobi's press conference comments. When was the last time Arsenal trained on the opposition's pitch the night before a fixture?

 

[Sniper Mik]

Willock's in there. Hope he gets some minutes

 

[gkoat]

I like that he is taking a strong squad. Keeping the winning streak going seems necessary...I really like what Emery is doing but with it being his first year and us being the arsenal we are one bad loss away from the crisis narrative the media and even some of our fans get caught up in. The team succeeds at winning but struggles to impose dominance when we should, I'm no coach but it all seems tied to confidence. Hopefully Iwobi goes full beast mode and carries us to the quadruple but until that happens, I'm all for scraping a win with our first team before risking the streak.

*if anyone gets hurt I'll deny I ever said this

 

[JimmyTheMac]

Emery is right to be playing a strong ish team. We need the momentum but more importantly this team is a work in progress. Developing the first team and creating fluidity, winning mentality and getting them to constantly improve to his methods is more important than anything right now, regardless of who the opposition is. The first team needs as many run of games together as possible, rather than chopping and changing for cup games.
Plus getting the win is important. There's a bit too much emphasis on certain youth players at the club by some posters on here but for now they need to be put on the back burner.
Regarding miki, I understand there's political turmoil between the two countries and its heated up again the last decade but I can't recall a nation banning people from another nation from entering their country (granted some celebs have been allowed) But it sounds so extreme and unfair.

 

[RacingPhoton]

American media reporting Mkhi isn't travelling on his own decision over security concerns. #1: Who's telling the truth? Is he allowed in on an exemption from the Azerbaijani government or not? #2: I understand the bad blood between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but why the hell doesn't UEFA step in and force Qarabag to provide security? Jesus.

No one in Mkhi's position would go there even if they provide full security. It's his life. Why unnecessarily risk it for this match?

 

[Stannis]

It’s probably political, mhiki may get a lot of heat from back home if he plays

 

[Tomb Bombadil]

I like that he is taking a strong squad. Keeping the winning streak going seems necessary...I really like what Emery is doing but with it being his first year and us being the arsenal we are one bad loss away from the crisis narrative the media and even some of our fans get caught up in. The team succeeds at winning but struggles to impose dominance when we should, I'm no coach but it all seems tied to confidence. Hopefully Iwobi goes full beast mode and carries us to the quadruple but until that happens, I'm all for scraping a win with our first team before risking the streak.

*if anyone gets hurt I'll deny I ever said this

This and that. Yes it's true that we should keep the momentum. But it is also important that we keep players fresh / don't loose them and that fringe player have a run of games.

For me it also depends on the position:
- I wouldn't want to risk Bellerin (we have Lichtsteiner) or esp. Monreal (who had already many games)
- We should give playing time at least to Iwobi, Guendouzi, Welbeck, Holding
- Lacazette for exemaple wasn't at the world cup and didn't play every game AND we have "enough" strikers

So it's all about smart rotation. I could live with this:
Leno - Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac - Elneny, Guendouzi - Iwobi, Özil, Welbeck - Lacazette

If I would be the coach I would be playing with Smith-Rowe and Nketiah instead of Özil and Laca. It should be a strong enough squad and even if we loose the game it's not all over. But then I'm not the coach.

 

[Mo Britain]

We need a team strong enough to beat a weak team, no more than that. It's great to keep the momentum of wins but not winning tonight will almost certainly be meaningless in the long run. Losing at Fulham may not be.

Happy with Lichtsteiner, Elneny, Guendouzi, Welbeck etc to play this one. Be stupid to play Laca and Özil and other players difficult to replace in the first team. Let's give Nketiah, Smith-Rowe, Willock etc some minutes. Fulham will be fresh on Sunday. We should try to be as fresh as possible.

 

[Mraven]

Willock's in there. Hope he gets some minutes

With Ramsey at home, it would be nice to see Willock at #10.

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

With Ramsey at home, it would be nice to see Willock at #10.

What makes you think he’d be a good no.10? CM possibly but naa, give no.10 to Özil or Iwobi.

 

[HBL]

With Mkhitaryan, Ramsey and Aubameyang all left behind for different reasons I think at least one of Özil and Lacazette will start, if not both.