Arsenal have submitted their final list of players for the Europa League knock-out stages, and have included both January loan signings.
The Gunners added Pablo Mari from Flamengo and Cedric Soares from Southampton, and the two defenders are in the squad.
Eddie Nketiah, recalled from his loan spell with Leeds, will also be available to Mikel Arteta, while youngsters Miguel Azeez and Tom Smith have also been added to the b-list.
Arsenal take on Olympiacos in the first knock out round, playing the Greek side at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on February 20th.
The return leg takes place a week later at the Emirates, and the Europa League still provides an opportunity for success in what has been a difficult season.
Having won just six Premier League games all season, European qualification is going to be a challenge, and of course the Europa League provides both a trophy and entry into next season’s Champions League.
Meanwhile, the FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League.
winning either Europa or FA Cup would work wonders for Arteta’s relationship not only with thefans but also with the players, but it does seem to be almost impossibly tall order. let’s just remember Mikel should not be assessed by this season alone, and that much of the rot is due to high management. whatever happens this season is just a prologue, albeit it would be much more positive one if we have something to show for it – imagine Mikel’s pulling power with players if we managed to bring some silverware to Ashburton this season in spite of all… Read more »
If Arteta can figure out a line up that makes us potent offensively, then a run at the EL is much more possible than people think – particularly as there aren’t a lot of truly impressive sides dropping down such as Athletico a couple of years ago. It’s still mainly a lot of teams from lower leagues who we likely match up well against.
The FA Cup while more difficult isn’t as daunting either given how few PL teams actually prioritize it anymore. City & Liverpool both want to win the CL so neither will likely give it much priority.
i’m worried it’s not as much about figuring it out as it’s about fielding a setup which will leave us fragile either defensively or offensively and Mikel wants to sort the first area out first. this squad is just so imbalanced it might not be possible to have a single setup that works well both defensively and offensively. and it may well be it’ll take full summer to make that even remotely possible. still, if he keeps us solid defensively, we might just cut it in cups thanks to Auba’s effectiveness (if he keeps it up, i consider the last… Read more »
I realize a lot of people disagree with me on this but I think Arteta largely has come in and relied on the big name players to go out and make the offense work. The big issue is 2 of the 4 offensive players (Ozil & Lacazette) really aren’t contributing anything at this point. He can keep the defensive solidity & still add more offense IMO simply by shifting Auba to the #9 position he’s best at & possibly playing a much more modern / athletic midfield of Torreira/Willock/Ceballos. A front 3 of Martinelli/ Auba/ Pepe has a lot of… Read more »
I agree with you! F-the majority man. Majorities end up in people like Boris Johnson…
Totally agree!
Pedigree yes but Getafe and Sevilla are above A. Madrid currently, as are Wolves and ManU in the PL.
With this team, despite the improvements under Arteta, winning a football match is far from certain.
The FA Cup is invariably won by atop 6 side so it’s not true that it is not prioritised by top Premier League teams
martin – the FA cup is usually the lowest priority for virtually every PL team given the bottom of the table prioritize staying up while the top of the table prioritize Europe & the CL. prior to the semis or final it’s largely just 2nd string teams for most PL sides.
Good news ahead of the fixture against Olympiacos is that one of their star players, and most creative outlets on the pitch, Daniel Podence, signed for Wolves in the transfer window.
Is that Soares, Ceballos or Mari?
They all look the same to me. Triplets?
Mari = tall one
Ceballos = medium one
Cedric = short one
Coincidentally this is also the order of handsomeness.
I’ve played enough FM to know how pissed they’d be to be missing out on ‘registration error’…good luck to all!
SIX WINS ALL SEASON?!
Jesus.
Only 6 losses though ?
Southampton couldn’t believe their luck when we came in for Soares. We’re in big trouble if this is now the way we recruit players. European football is looking highly unlikely. An elite CL squad wage bill, with no European football. Owners with short arms, and long pockets. And a squad devoid of quality, balance, and sellable assets. Without European football, we’ll either have to loan out many of our players, or downsize our squad, or there won’t be enough games to go around. We’re reportedly in danger of breaching FFP. I have a feeling we’re nowhere near hitting rock bottom… Read more »
We won’t win anything this season. Let’s just concentrate on finishing in top 10.
Your negativity is frighteningly realistic.
Your supportive comment is a consequence of your personal opinion. I think Mikel has everything under control including the subs (I have 100 realistic excuses)
I am actually positive. First I didn’t think we had a shot to finish in the top 10. Now with the number of games left, and recent result we might be able to finish in the top half of the table.
You have never been positive, in fact your negativity is pathetic. I will be disappointed if we cannot finish at least in the top 6 and win one of the cups
How many games have you watched this season? You think we can win a cup? I am just being realistic from what I see, and the decline we seem to be on. You think we can win a cup? Are you kidding me? Maybe on playstation. Lmao
Sadly, I agree. This squad, in whatever formation, is not good enough to win either the Europa or the FA cup. This is the cold reality.
Anyone that has watch this football club under Emery, Freddie and Arteta and still believes they have a chance of finishing in the Top 6 or winning any Cup is either ignorantly optimistic or just delusional.
Yes, this is sad. But the first step to recovery is to except that we are just not good enough. Next step is to bring in players who are better than what we have and hope to move forward. Blaming Emery, Arteta, or Mustafi will not get us anywhere.
We just need better players with a great winning mentality who are strong, and committed to fight for 90 minutes. I feel a lot of our players are OK/good but very inconsistent and switch off.
Frightening and realistic. ?