There was no love for Arsenal FC on Valentine’s Day, as the Gunners looked absolutely putrid on February 14 in their 1-0 loss at Bate Borisov. The Gunners now return home to tangle with the Belarusian minnows again in the second/home leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie.
Arsenal heads into this one down 1-0 on aggregate and facing the uphill climb of an away goal disadvantage. Unai Emery’s side also must deal with the absence of the suspended Alexandre Lacazette, as the striker dominated the headlines of the reverse fixture by disastrously picking up a red card very late in that match.
To his credit, at least he did apologize publicly on social media after the fact.
Midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil did not make the trip to Belarus for the first leg, but both are expected to be fit and available for selection here. Whether or not Emery calls on the duo, especially the latter, remains to be seen.
Defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos could be in contention finally, after having missed the past few weeks due to an ankle injury that he suffered against Manchester United in the FA Cup. Meanwhile Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck have all been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Arsenal are well aware that crashing out of the UEL tournament at the hands of a side whose entire payroll history is less expensive than one of their players would be devastatingly embarrassing. Thus they should be extremely fired up for this match, as they know there is simply no room for error here.
Arsenal FC vs Bate Borisov UEFA Europa League Round of 32 FYIs
Kickoff: Thursday, February 21, 5:55pm, Emirates Stadium
Arsenal starting XI prediction: go to this link
Odds to qualify for the round of 16 via Betfair: Arsenal 2/9, Bate Borisov 27/10
Odds via Bet365 to win UEL tournament: Chelsea 4/1, Arsenal 6/1, Napoli 6/1, Inter 10/1, Sevilla 12/1
Prediction: Arsenal 4, Bate 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.