Arsenal vs Red Star Belgrade - as it happened: Gunners through to knockout stages of Europa League
Re-live the action from The Emirates
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Arsenal will proceed to the knockout stages of the Europa League with a victory over Red Star Belgrade at the Emirates on Thursday.
Following three wins in three so far, Arsenal are comfortably top of Group H, and will even qualify for the final-32 with a draw tonight if BATE Borisov fail to beat Cologne. Recent form, however, will give manager Arsene Wenger confidence that his side can come away with three points.
Despite a difficult week off the pitch – with shareholder protests at last Thursday’s annual general meeting – the Gunners beat Swansea 2-1 at the Emirates over the weekend to record their fourth successive win in all competitions. Saturday’s win was also the third consecutive time that Arsenal have recovered from conceding the first goal, coming back to beat Everton and Swansea in the league, as well as Norwich in the Carabao Cup, in recent weeks. This kind of character not only bodes well for Arsenal in a season in which they will be fighting on multiple league and cup fronts, but will also reassure that an upset is unlikely tonight.
On this evidence, and especially given their crucial league clash with high-flying Manchester City on Sunday, expect some squad rotation from Wenger against Red Star. Olivier Giroud – who scored in the first-leg of this double-header to give Arsenal a 1-0 victory in Serbia – is likely to start, as is Calum Chambers, who has returned to first-team training following an injury layout.
For Red Star, who will now be targeting their later games against BATE and Cologne, any points from the Emirates will be a bonus and they will have to do without right-back Milan Rodic after he was shown two yellows last time out.
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What time does it start?
Arsenal vs Red Star Belgrade kicks off at 20:05.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 2 from 20:00. Highlights will be shown at 22:15 on BT Sport 2.
It’s a big game for…
Jack Wilshere. After six appearances in all competitions, the frustratingly mercurial midfielder has begun to gather some playing momentum this season. With his manager Wenger going on record this week to recommend him to the England squad, the 25 year-old, likely to start tonight, will be hoping for a strong showing to reassure his doubters that he can get back to his brilliant best.
Best stat…
14. If Arsenal are victorious again tonight, they will have won their last 14 games at The Emirates in all competitions, their longest ever winning run at the stadium.
Remember when…
Olivier Giroud scored this beauty last time out in Belgrade, finishing off a slick passing move started by Jack Wilshere with an improvised overhead finish.
Player to watch…
The 12th man… Arsenal’s last Europa League fixture at The Emirates was marred by crowd trouble, with 15,000 Cologne fans inexplicably gaining entry to home sections of the ground and forcing kick-off to be delayed by an hour. The club will be hoping order will be kept more securely tonight and that the famously energetic Red Star Ultras leave their flares back home in Serbia.
Previous three meetings…
Red Star Belgrade 0 Arsenal 1 (Giroud), Europa League, October 2017
Arsenal 1 (Sunderland) Red Star Belgrade 1 (Savic), UEFA Cup, December 1978
Red Star Belgrade 1 (Blagojevic) Arsenal 0, UEFA Cup, November 1978
Form guide…
Arsenal: WLWWWW
Red Star Belgrade: WLWDWL
Odds…
Arsenal: 6/19
Red Star Belgrade: 17/2
Draw: 22/5
Arsenal 0-0 Red Star
90+2' - Francis Coquelin sees his name up in lights as he tries to win the match in injury time with a long-range volley. He scuffs his shot though and the ball bounces behind for a goal-kick.
Full-time - Arsenal 0-0 Red Star
The final whistle goes and a rather drab match ends in a 0-0 draw. The result is enough to see Arsenal qualify for the knock-out stages due to Cologne's 5-2 win over BATE in the group's other match.
Stay tuned for reaction from the Emirates.
Post-match reaction from Jack Wilshere
On Arsenal securing qualification with two games to spare: "It's nice. Of course we wanted to win the game tonight. We're not delighted with a point but we'll take it."
On Arsenal's performance on the night: "In the first half they were the better team. We were better in the second half. We weren't as good as we have been in recent performances but we didn't lose the game and we'll learn from this."
On missing out on the England squad: "I feel good. I'm trying to get in the team. It's difficult here, there are good players here. I'm happy with where I am and there's a little bit more to come from me but at the moment I'm enjoying my football and I'm enjoying being back in an Arsenal shirt."
On this Sunday's difficult trip to Manchester City: "We'll have to better when we go to City. They're really good but we'll be ready for it. We've got confidence in ourselves and hopefully we'll get something out of the game."
Quotes from BT Sport
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