Arsenal kicks off their Europa League campaign, where they will have to travel to Austria to face Rapid Wien.
This is the fourth consecutive season where Arsenal participate in the competition, after failing to enter the Champions League. Nobody is really interested in the competition from a fan’s point of view, but this is potentially Arsenal’s best shot to gain a place in the next year’s Champions League, by winning the Europa League.
We were close to winning the trophy for 2 times, where we got knocked out in a very competitive semi-final against Atletico Madrid once, and the forgettable night in Baku in 2019, where we got outplayed by Chelsea in the final. Last season was a disappointment in the competition, where we faced a shock exit in the round of 32. Mikel Arteta seems to be notoriously good in cup competitions and would like to push for a European trophy.
We are always amongst the favorites in this competition, which says about the quality of opposition you face here compared to the Champions League. Nevertheless, we do also have some competitive teams such as Sp*rs, Leverkusen, Roma, Napoli, and also teams coming from the champions league too. Certainly an interesting watch!
As for our opener against Vienna, it seems to give an opportunity for us to give playing time to some of our fringe players as well as some exciting youngsters. This seems to be the chance for the likes of Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, and Smith-Rowe to develop and fulfill their potential.
Some exciting youngsters are there for selection including Miguel Azeez and Florian Balougan. Although it is unlikely that they start these games, due to our bloated squad, but surely are in contention to get some minutes. Alex Runarsson is fit and could make a potential debut, but Mikel Arteta prefers a strong lineup which could result in the Icelandic goalkeeper to be warming the bench once again.
Predicted Lineup:
Leno, Cedric, Luiz, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland Niles, Joe Willock, Mohammad Elneny, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Smith-Rowe
