LONDON • Arsenal will face Belarusian outfit Bate Borisov after yesterday's Europa League round of 32 draw and Unai Emery knows the tournament may just be his side's best chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League should there be more defensive horror nights like Sunday.
The Gunners' 22-match unbeaten run in all competitions ended after a shock 3-2 Premier League loss against struggling Southampton, falling three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, midfielder Granit Xhaka and a half-fit Laurent Koscielny, playing only his second game after seven months out following Achilles surgery, formed a makeshift backline that struggled to cope with the Saints' aerial bombardment.
They conceded three headed goals at St Mary's and the Spaniard conceded afterwards his side had to defend with more composure if they were to clinch a place in the top four to end their two-season Champions League absence.
"If we won't win like today, we cannot be in the top four. Other teams, usually they are winning," he said after a sloppy display capped by an error by goalkeeper Bernd Leno for striker Charlie Austin's 85th-minute winner.
The Arsenal manager, however, refused to blame the one-game suspensions of regular centre-backs Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, as well as the injury to right-back Hector Bellerin, who went off at half-time, for the error-strewn performance.
He said: "We haven't conceded a lot of chances but today, they (Southampton) scored three goals. We need to do some analysis on how we can improve and do better. We need to continue taking responsibility for the 90 minutes."
Â
Â
Â
Bellerin would likely be out for "some weeks" after suffering a calf strain and Emery admitted he might move for players in the January transfer window if Arsenal fall further behind in the top-four race.
He added: "Only if we think the players can't help us with a good performance. January is not a good transfer window for this reason, but we are going to look and the club is working on transfers in January."
However, the club also have a Plan B as winning the Europa League represents a direct route into European football's premier competition and they were given a boost after a comparatively easier draw which also saw the Blues paired with Sweden's Malmo.
The pick of the round was the tie between five-time champions Sevilla and Italian side Lazio. The first legs will be played on Feb 14, with return legs a week later.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Home » News » News » Goalkeeper Arrizabalaga dropped as Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Goalkeeper Arrizabalaga dropped as Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 On February 28, 2019 9:42 am In
Arrizabalaga dropped as Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-0 - Football
Alexis Sanchez came back to haunt Arsenal as the Chilean opened the scoring in Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win on Friday to maintain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 100 percent record as
Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Man Utd maintain perfect record
The gripping new thriller from M. J. Arlidge, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Helen Grace series. Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist, well used to dealing with the most damaged members of society. But he's never met anyone like Kassie. The teenager claims to have a terrible gift - with
Subscribe to Read Articles from December 1954 Part 2 - Site
Speaking ahead of Cardiff's trip to Arsenal on Tuesday, their first match since Sala's plane vanished, Warnock said it had been the most difficult week of his career and admits he had questioned
Warnock says Sala tragedy is most difficult week of his
The Reds trail 3-0 following the first leg of their Champions League semi-final and, although Klopp's previous bid to overturn that deficit ended in disappointment, he is not deterred from hoping
Jordan: We have confidence and belief - Liverpool FC
The Premier League voiced "significant concerns" over potential reforms to the Champions League on Friday, saying the changes would damage the thriving domestic game. Reported reforms being put forward for further discussion include changing the current group stage from eight groups of four to four groups of eight, guaranteeing clubs far
People usually have to earn our trust before we trust them. As nice as it would be to think like he does, if most people thought that way, we would probably see a lot of wallets lying around in public places, people would not spend so much on security devices and locks for their homes and cars, and children would be allowed to roam unsupervised
Why You Should Always Trust Yourself — Purpose Fairy
Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the English national team.. A Manchester United player from the age of seven, he scored two goals on both his first-team debut against Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League in February 2016 and his Premier League debut against Arsenal three days later.
Luka Milivojevic's late penalty earned Crystal Palace a barely deserved 1-0 win at Newcastle United to all but secure their Premier League safety.
Pochettino's side would have moved within two points of leaders Manchester City with a win at Turf Moor. But they squandered the chance to enhance their title prospects with a sloppy display that
PSG captain Thiago Silva receives French citizenship Description: The 34-year-old's decision means PSG have an extra space in their squad for a non-EU player. Silva has played 274 games since joining the reigning Ligue 1 champions in 2012 and has 77 caps for Brazil.
Football: PSG captain Thiago Silva receives French citizenship
