Europa League: A potential distraction for Arsenal but Arteta still targets glory

Arsenal remain on-course to win the Premier League this season but Mikel Arteta is still targeting glory in the Europa League as he aims for a sensational double.

The Gunners have been the surprise package of the 2022/23 campaign. Before the season began, not many pundits predicted they would even make the top four never mind challenge for the title. However, Arteta’s side have defied the odds and put together a stunning run of form that’s seen them leading the way for the vast majority of the season.

Arsenal have recovered from a mini-blip that included defeats to Everton and Man City in February to win their last five league games. Impressive comeback victories over Aston Villa and Bournemouth have been complimented by comfortable wins over Leicester, Everton and most recently, Fulham.

It means the Gunners are still five points clear of Man City with 11 games left to play. They have a golden opportunity to end their title drought and win the Premier League for the first time since 2004. So it’s no wonder that many fans have suggested that it may not be the worst thing if Arsenal quietly exited the Europa League at the last-16 stages. Without Thursday night football and some potentially gruelling away trips across Europe, Arsenal could focus on the closing out the league title.

With Manchester City cruising into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, there is every possibility that Pep Guardiola will be distracted by winning the European Cup and they’d be forgiven for focussing on that competition as they are favourites to go all the way. It is reasonable then that many Arsenal supporters believe it would be beneficial for the club to play the reserves in the Europa League and throw everything at the Premier League.

Arteta targets double

However, Arteta insists he has the squad capable of competing on both fronts. The Gunners boss claims he will still field a strong team against Sporting Lisbon in their last-16 second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night. Arteta has no plans to throw in the towel following a 2-2 draw in the first leg last week and believes his squad is capable of winning an historic Premier League and Europa League double this season.

Arsenal are the bookmakers favourites to win the Europa League and they have an excellent chance of making it to the last 8. They should be confident of beating Sporting at home to progress to the next phase and Manchester United are perhaps their greatest competition left. European trophies have been in short supply at Arsenal given their illustrious history, so it’s no surprise that Arteta is still keen to go all the way and win the Europa League.

Sporting head to the Emirates on Thursday after giving a good account of themselves in the first leg. They caused Arsenal problems but the reality is the Gunners had more than enough chances to win the game and should comfortably come out victories on home soil to book their place in the quarter finals.

Main attraction

With Arteta’s side producing magnificent football this season, Arsenal games have become a main attraction in the capital once again. Every game is a sell out as football loving fans flock to the Emirates Stadium to see the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus doing their thing.

Tickets are now like gold dust, so unless you’re a season ticket holder, securing a ticket for any match is a difficult task. Thursday’s clash with Sporting is no exception as it’s expected to be a sell-out. The good news is you can use reputable ticket reselling sites such as seatsnet.com to get your hands on a ticket if you aren’t able to buy one through the official channels.

Arteta is expected to field a strong side with many first team regulars featuring. Ben White, William Saliba, Olek Zinchenko, Granit Xhaka, Saka and Martinelli are firm fixtures in Arsenal’s best eleven and they all started in the first leg last week.

Strong team

We could see Arteta naming a similar side for the second leg with No.2 goalkeeper Matt Turner recalled in goal to allow Aaron Ramsdale a rest. Jabuk Kiwior – who was signed in January – endured a difficult full debut in Portugal and was substituted in the second half so it will be interesting to see whether Arteta gives him another opportunity to showcase his talent, or bring in Gabriel or Rob Holding.

Kieran Tierney would usually have come in at left-back but the Scottish International has been out of favour in recent weeks. He has been struggling with a knock but made his return off the bench against Fulham so he could get the nod on Thursday night with Zinchenko rested.

Thomas Partey is expected to be given a breather with Jorginho coming in to the holding midfield role. Fabio Vieira is almost certain to start after impressing in the first leg. It will be interesting to see whether he replaces Granit Xhaka or Martin Odegaard.

Jesus made his long-awaited comeback from a knee injury with an impressive cameo appearance against Fulham on Sunday. The Brazilian international is being eased back into action after four months out so he’s likely to be named among the substitutes again. Eddie Nketiah remains out with an ankle injury which means Leandro Trossard could keep his place up front after providing three assists at the weekend.

Emile Smith Rowe could feature as he continues to build on his fitness following a frustrating campaign that’s been blighted by injury issues. Takehiro Tomiyasu is pushing for a recall at right-back so White could be rested while Reiss Nelson is an option in attack if Arteta wants to freshen things up. Nelson will still be on a high following his stunning last minute winner against Bournemouth recently so he may deserve a chance in the Europa League.

Some beleive the Europa League is nothing more than a distraction for table-topping Arsenal and there is certainly some merit to that school of thought. Arsenal are virtually guaranteed to be in the Champions League next season through a top four league finish so most fans want the club to just focus on winning the Premiership.  However, Arteta is confident his players can compete on both fronts and he wants to get his hands on a European trophy.

We expect Arsenal to ease past Sporting on Thursday night to book their place in the quarter-finals with a relatively straightforward 3-1 win on home soil. However, perhaps just as important as the result will be key players coming through the game without any injury issues ahead of the league clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.