Arsenal can guarantee a spot in the next round of the Europa League with a victory at home to Sporting Lisbon on Thursday. They have impressed so far in the Europa League, with three wins from their first three games and it would not be a surprise to see Arsenal go far in this competition. Sporting Lisbon have won two of their three games, with their loss coming against Arsenal, and they will be looking to finish in second place behind Arsenal to book their place in the knockout round.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery appears to be taking the Europa League seriously, and he could see this as a genuine trophy opportunity in his first season in charge. That will no doubt please fans, who appreciate that The Gunners are some way off the league title right now, but want them to challenge for other competitions elsewhere.

Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon – What Happened Last Time?

These two teams met towards the end of last month in Lisbon and it was Arsenal that came away with the points. A goal from Danny Welbeck in the 77th minute was enough to win them the game, and it was a game that they dominated for long periods.

The first half was controlled by Arsenal, but they lacked a cutting edge and struggled to have any meaningful shots on target. That changed in the second half, Arsenal pressed even more, found a way to get more shots on goal and eventually broke through thanks to Welbeck.

Something that Arsenal will take from that game was their patience, something they may need again this Thursday. Sporting Lisbon set up making themselves tough to beat at home, so we can expect to see them do exactly that again away from home when they visit the Emirates. Arsenal are more than capable of breaking them down, but they may need to be patient again, and wait for Libson to tire and the opportunities to arrive.

Going forward, Sporting Lisbon offered very little and Arsenal will no doubt be confident that they can keep them off the scoresheet, keeping another clean sheet in this competition.

The Unai Emery Era Starts Well at Arsenal

After  being under the stewardship of Arsene Wenger for so long, this summer was always going to be a very interesting one at The Emirates. It could have gone poorly for Arsenal, but Unai Emery has worked well with the players he has, and put Arsenal in a position that is probably slightly better than their fans were expecting from them.

Arsenal have won three out of three in the Europa League, they are currently 5th in the league, with a current unbeaten run of nine games and they are also through to the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup. When appointing Emery, the Arsenal board wouldn’t have put any short term goals in place, the vision of this club is a long term one, but they must be excited with what he has done for them so far.

He has brought a number of his own players in but many of them are youngsters who are going to be much better in years to come, with little expectation on them right now. Emery has used the players he has at the club, and got them playing a style that suits them, and this is helping them get results. Mesut Ozil has been at Arsenal for a long time, but he looks rejuvenated under Emery, and we have seen him at his very best in the past few weeks.

While his main focus will be on the future of Arsenal football club, and bringing in new younger faces to make them a force in the future, Unai Emery has also managed the current situation very well, and got plenty from his experienced stars. Whether Emery can continue this approach and getting the balance right remains to be seen, but everyone associated with Arsenal football club should be encouraged with both the short term outlook for the team and the longer term vision that Emery has.

Cutting ties with Arsene Wenger was always going to happen at some point, and during the summer Arsenal made the move. They won’t be judged on the appointment of Emery for a few more years yet, but they will need to show signs that things are moving in the right direction after a couple of years where they struggled to keep up with the remainder of the top six. So far so good on that for The Gunners, and they will be hoping it isn’t a flash in the pan, and they genuinely have something to work on here. Breaking back into the top four will be the first aim for them, that won’t be easy, but things look positive right now and with Manchester United and Tottenham showing signs they are struggling, the door is slightly open for an Arsenal ressurgence.

Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon Betting Tips

If you take a look at what happened in the first leg, then we can guess that Sporting Lisbon are going to come here and try to nick a point from the game. They will look to set up strong from a defensive point of view, and furstrate Arsenal for the entire game. That only worked for one half in Portugal, and I don’t think it will last that long when they meet this Thursday.

Arsenal appear to be taking this competition fairly seriously, so don’t be surprised to see them play some of their key attacking players here. Those players are more than capable of unlocking the Lisbon defence here, and that is exactly what I am going to back them to do.

While Arsenal only scored one goal away from home, I can see them getting on top earlier here and scoring more than just one, in what I think will turn out to be a relatively comfortable night for them at home. I am going to back Arsenal to win on the -1 handicap line, I think they will score more than one goal here, and I also think they are capable of keeping another clean sheet against Lisbon, who won’t offer much going forward in this game.

This will take Arsenal a step closer in the Europa League, don’t be surprised to see them go deep in the competition, this is something Unai Emery will really want to do. As far as this game goes, it looks like being a comfortable victory for The Gunners in front of their home fans on Thursday.

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