Arsenal began brightly at the home of the league champions and should have been ahead by the end of the opening quarter, but the Premier League giants found chances more difficult to come by as the game progressed.BATE did not necessarily deserve their goal when it arrived just before half time, but Arsenal only had themselves to blame having failed to capitalise on outclassing their hosts for much of the first period.Emery and Arsenal will have had a week to dwell on their shortcomings last week by the time that they take to the pitch on Thursday night, and it has given both parties an opportunity to reflect on the inconsistencies since the start of 2019 and what is realistically achievable during the rest of the season.
Arsenal are only one point adrift of Manchester United in the race for fourth position in the top-flight standings, but they will consider trying to win the Europa League as equal priority as they look to earn a return to the Champions League.The North London outfit justifiably remain favourites to reach the last 16, but Emery must find solutions with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil who find themselves in and out of the starting lineup even when they are fit.
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Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Koscielny, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Torreira; Iwobi, Suarez, Mkhitaryan; Aubameyang
BATE Borisov possible starting lineup:
Scherbitski; Rios, Volkov, Filipenko, Filipovic; Baga, Dragun, Berezkin; Milic, Skavysh, Stasevich
Head To Head
Thursday’s match will represent the fourth competitive meeting between the clubs in the space of 18 months.
BATE’s success last week came as a huge surprise with Arsenal having registered 4-2 and 6-0 victories during the group stages last season.
Arsenal 3-1 BATE Borisov
Arsenal’s home record is considerably better than their efforts away from the Emirates Stadium, and we feel that will be crucial on Thursday night. Don’t be surprised to see BATE get on the scoresheet, but we are backing the Gunners to gain the result that they need to progress into the last 16.