Team news
Rennes: Koubek; Zeffane, Da Silva, Mexer, Bensebaini; Bourigeaud, Andre, Grenier, Sarr; Hunou, Ben Arfa. Subs: Badiashile, Doumbia, Johansson, Siliki, Lauriente, Del Castillo, Gelin.
Arsenal: Cech; Mustafi, Koscielny, Sokratis, Monreal; Torreira, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi; Aubameyang. Subs: Leno, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Suarez, Ramsey, Nketiah.
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia)
Preamble
Hello. There have been times this season when there has been a sense of something proper happening with Unai Emery’s Arsenal. Though they remain a long way from perfect, there have been flashes of an actual grown-up team emerging, which would be something indeed. They were pretty decent in last weekend’s 1-1 away draw with Tottenham, for example, and this is a squad that contains enough talent for Emery to lay down some promising foundations as he gets to grip with the post-Wenger rebuild.
But plenty of ifs and buts and uncertainties remain. Nobody is quite sure of how good Arsenal are at the moment – home wins over Chelsea and Spurs were ones to savour, but an FA Cup defeat to Manchester United felt all too familiar – and there can be no guarantee they’ll regain their place in the Champions League place after two years away from Europe’s top competition. Their inconsistent league form makes it hard to predict a top-four finish with any confidence.
That makes these Thursday night excursions all the more important, even if it must dent their pride to be taking on the 10th best team in France the day after United’s stunning win against PSG. They can’t be sniffy about the Europa League. It could be their best chance of qualifying for the Champions League and Emery, who won this competition with Sevilla three times, will not be taking Rennes lightly. Arsenal had a scare in the previous round against Bate Borisov, losing the first leg in Belarus before putting things right at the Emirates Stadium, and they’ll need their game faces on against opponents who looked nifty while knocking out Real Betis.
Kick-off: 5.55pm GMT, 6.55pm in Rennes.
