Arsenal gave a 4-0 thrashing of Belgian side Standard Liege yesterday, and all the talk was about teenager Gabriel Martinelli, who scored Arsenal’s first two goals just 131 seconds apart. It was the second time Martinelli bagged a brace in his past three matches, as he also scored twice in Arsenal’s 5-0 rout over Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup last month.

He’s yet to feature in a league fixture, and if he keeps producing like this, Arsenal manager Unai Emery will have no choice but to give him a chance. The timing is certainly right, as forward Alexandre Lacazette continues rehabbing from an ankle injury.

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Who wants some public beef as we enter the final weekend of play before the second international break? Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and the leadership of his former employer, Borussia Dortmund, are in the midst of a hostile, public back-and-forth.

Arsenal signed the Gabon international from Dortmund for a then club record fee (it has since been broken twice) of £56 million in January 2018. According to Spotrac, he signed a 4-year £32,760,000 contract with the Arsenal, including an annual average salary of £8,190,000.

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Full back Kieran Tierney was linked to Arsenal all summer long, but didn’t make the transfer from Celtic to Arsenal until the 11th hour of the window. Due to injury, the 22-year-old didn’t make his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt until last week’s rout of Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.

In other words, there has been a lot of anticipation and build-up preceding the left-back’s arrival on the pitch. He’ll see some time again in a cup competition, when Standard Liege visits the Emirates Stadium to battle Arsenal in Europa League action tomorrow.

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Monday night saw Manchester United and Arsenal play to a blah 1-1 draw that served as a sharp reminder about just how far both sides fallen from the top. Both clubs might want to start prioritizing the Europa League competition a bit more. Arsenal have missed out on Champions League the past three seasons, and winning this tournament might be their best route back to the big boy table of Europe.

Up next is a visit from Standard Liege in UEL group stage play. Let’s take a look at the Gunners team news, and make a prediction on what Unai Emery’s first team could be.

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Since Unai Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, Mesut Ozil, the team’s highest paid player, has found himself out of favor. The £350,000-a-week midfielder has often been benched, with a fitness excuse for that decision sometimes being provided.

Other times, Emery has said little to nothing beyond “it’s tactical,” or other words to that effect. Today, however, Emery dropped Ozil entirely, and when pressed on why, didn’t even bother to give an explanation or justification. It’s pretty obvious now that Emery and Arsenal don’t even want to bother pretending anymore. Watch this pregame interview of the Gunners manager below:

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