EL R16, Second leg: Arsenal FC (1) vs Stade Rennais FC (3) Emirates Stadium, London Thursday, March 14, 2019 4:00 PM EST BR Live ‘My regrets are not for myself but for unhappy France! With twenty thousand men less than I had we ought to have won the battle of Waterloo. But it was Fate that made me lose it.’ Napoleon Bonaparte - The return leg of a Europa League tie with French muggles Stade Rennais takes place this week as the Gunners look to keep the momentum from Sunday's special victory. The 2-0 win over Manchester United may not have been beautiful but it was a gritty 3 points earned and taken that has left Arsenal not only just 1 point from 3rd in the Premiership table but also full of renewed belief. For Arsenal their fate is now back in their own hands. First job is undoing the inglorious mistake that was last week's fixture wherein a few moments of dumbassery, spiced with a little hubris, left the Gunners facing a 2 goal deficit. The good news is this isn't insurmountable, provided, of course, Arsenal sharpen their focus and look more like the team that played Tottenham and Man U rather than folded omelette that showed up across the channel. The bad news is the job is made trickier due to the suspensions of two key players in Lacazette and Sokratis. Yes, Gooners, we will likely have to face another Mustafi performance. Will the home ground advantage endow a possible shutout of a mid-table Ligue 1 side or will Arsenal need to contrive 3-4 goals to advance? Will Ramsey and/or Ozil make another start? Will Idris Elba provide guest color commentary?! C'mon you Gunners!
Looks like UEFA reduced Laca's suspension by 1 game so he will be available for the 2nd leg. Would like to see us run a 2 ST formation. Think it is our best bet to get 2+ goals.
Welcome to the board. And +1 for your avatar. He was a past fave of mine too. However I think that perhaps the last match might indicate slightly otherwise. Who of us would've dreamed he'd start Laca, Auba, Ozil & Ramsey in the same XI? Plus, it's basically dictated that we have to attack bigtime in this match. And now with that unexpected good news about Laca's suspension being shortened (maybe UEFA's trying to throw us a bone, given how Rennes was given an extra week rest before leg 1), then I could see Emery being tempted to play a similar line-up... maybe with 2 rotations? (I'm wondering about Mkhi/Torreira coming back in and Ozil getting a rest... also not sure how many mins Auba has in his legs)
I think it would make sense to start Lacazette and bring auba on as a sub with 30-40 minutes left. Rennais will probably look to defend, so aubas speed against tired legs could be useful.
I tend to prefer the look of our offense with 2 ST this season but I do agree that this has been an effective strategy as well.
Now that's an appropriate move! Makes me think I should pay a visit to my local pub for this one? Assuming that they have B/R Live streaming??? I almost went down there for the United match Sunday, but I didn't... partly because I've been burned one too many times before. Too many memories of defeat/deflation at the hands of those bastards. Oh well... decisions, decisions!
well Sir, if you staying away means a 2-0 win for the Arsenal its the least you can go. Take one for the team
I still think Arsenal can turn this around... 1 goal and the floodgates will open... when it Rennes, it pours...
If only it were that simple! We've won when I go to the pub.... we've lost when I go to the pub. Sadly there's no real correlation. Edit: My pub won't do B/R Live only Galavision stream. So I'll stay home and do that stream myself while I have various websites to look at simultaneously. I'll save the pub for our next big match!
His XI is pretty much as expected... Arsenal 1 Cech 20 Mustafi 6 Koscielny 18 Monreal 15 Maitland-Niles 8 Ramsey 34 Xhaka 31 Kolasinac 10 Özil 9 Lacazette 14 Aubameyang Substitutes 7 Mkhitaryan 11 Torreira 17 Iwobi 19 Leno 22 D Suárez 29 Guendouzi 49 Nketiah
I only get Galavision in standard def at home, which is brutal. The bar was going to stream B/R Live, but in a total shocker, the stream was shit. Espanol it is.
Gala stream looks pretty HD... maybe try that? Find it on www.univision.com/deportes/futbol/uefa-europa-league/arsenal-vs-rennes-uefa-league-2019-03-14