Mikel Arteta leaves firepower on the bench for vital Benfica clash
Lacazette and Pepe on bench
Mikel Arteta has only made one change from the first-leg, with Kieran Tierney returning in place of Cedric Soares for tonight’s vital Europa League last-32 clash with Benfica in Athens.
Arsenal hold an advantage thanks to Bukayo Saka’s ‘away’ goal in last week’s 1-1 draw in Rome, but, in a game in which it could be argued Arsenal’s season is on the line, their second and third top goal scorers this season, Alexandre Lacazette and record signing Nicolas Pepe, are both on the bench. They are joined by Thomas Partey, as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.
📋 Tonight’s team news is in!
🏴 @KieranTierney1 starts
🇧🇷 @DavidLuiz_4 partners @Biel_M04
🇬🇦 @Aubameyang7 leads the line#️⃣ #UEL
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 25, 2021
Martin Odegaard once again gets the nod to start following his recent arrival, despite being yet to register either a goal or assist for the Gunners.
Season saver
Mikel Arteta gained a lot of respect for winning the FA Cup in his first season as Arsenal boss, and fans were no doubt hopeful that the club were set to push on this season. Unfortunately, this has since not proven the case, as the north Londoners have crashed out of both domestic cups, and currently sit in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on the touchline during the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, London. (Photo by Andy Rain/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Europa League therefore represents Arsenal’s last chance of silverware this season, and probably their only realistic shot at securing entry into the Champions League, a competition they used to be a mainstay of.
With so much at stake, it seems surprising that Lacazette especially has been left on the bench, whilst Pepe has displayed arguably his best form this season in the Europa League.
Should Arsenal fail to position themselves in Friday’s draw for the last-16, the pressure will likely increase on Arteta.
Arsenal vs Benfica live streaming: Watch Europa League online
Arsenal defender David Luiz encouraged to re-join Benfica at the end of the season
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
Arsenal betting odds, next game:
Arsenal vs Fulham odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Arsenal vs Fulham Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 3/1 | 7/4 |
| Fulham | 9/1 | 13/2 |
| Draw | 4/1 | 8/1 |
| Arsenal vs Fulham Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 7/4 | 7/4 | 1/1 |
| Alexandre Lacazette | 2/1 | 2/1 | 6/5 |
| Eddie Nketiah | 11/4 | 11/4 | 6/4 |
| Aleksandar Mitrovic | 3/1 | 3/1 | 9/4 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 10/3 | 10/3 | 15/8 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 32 | 44 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 31 | 27 | 63 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 31 | 12 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 31 | 17 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 30 | 3 | 48 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 31 | 8 | 45 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 31 | -17 | 36 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 31 | -5 | 33 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 31 | -19 | 32 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | -31 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 31 | -38 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Holgate, Mason | Everton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
