Arsenal take on Stade Rennais in Europa League Round of 16 Clash

Arsenal take on Stade Rennais in the Europa League on Thursday, with the Gunners looking to take home the advantage in a competition they’re dying to win.

Whether Arsenal’s first season under Unai Emery is successful or not, remains to be seen. Plenty of that judgement will come down to their performances in the UEFA Europa League, which might be the Gunners’ best shot at getting back into the Champions League, which is their ultimate goal after all. Although they do still have an opportunity to finish top 4 in the Premier League, they will find it difficult as the congestion in that 3rd-6th area of the table is massive. Arsenal still plod along in the Europa League however, and they come up against Stade Rennais in the Round of 16, after disposing of BATE Borisov in the Round of 32.

Rennes are no push-over club, that’s for sure. The French side sit smack-dab in the middle of the Ligue 1 table and possess some sensational talents, such as Arsenal-linked Ismaila Sarr and the notorious Hatem Ben Arfa. There are many interesting narratives surrounding this match, with most of them regarding Arsenal’s large stature in France, which of course has a lot to do with Arsene Wenger’s achievements there, along with legendary players such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Robert Pires.

Stade Rennais’ stadium, which somehow isn’t named Stade Rennais (which translates literally to ‘Rennais Stadium’), holds 30,000 people. Yet, when the locals heard that Arsenal were coming to town, the club received a massive 90,000 ticket requests. The tickets were eventually granted at a first-come, first-serve basis, which led to many camping outside the ticket booth for days.

Rennes were also given the weekend off by their governing body in order to prepare for this match – a clear sign of how important European success is for France’s teams.

As for Arsenal, this match comes sandwiched in-between 2 monumental clashes against fellow top 6 rivals, which means the Gunners are likely to play a relatively weakened lineup in this match. Following their draw against Spurs at Wembley on Saturday, in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a potentially season-defining last-minute penalty, the Gunners will take on Manchester United at the Emirates this Sunday. They will still have to focus heavily on this match however, as we saw how poor they are capable of being in hostile environments away from home, when they lost 0-1 in Borisov.

It will be interesting to see Rennes’ Hatem Ben Arfa come up against his former manager and foe, Unai Emery. The 2 shared a sour relationship during their time at PSG, where Ben Arfa would publicly humiliate the manager regularly.

This should be an extremely entertaining match, as both sides have some fantastic midfield and attacking talent in their ranks. Arsenal may be in for a surprise or two come kickoff.