Preview: Arsene Wenger tips Alexandre Lacazette to deliver for Arsenal - will he start against CSKA?
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ByEurosport
Updated 05/04/2018 at 11:56 GMT
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the club are about to see the best of Alexandre Lacazette after the French striker returned to full fitness following a nagging knee injury.
Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette walks past manager Arsene Wenger as he is substituted
Image credit: Reuters
Team news
Lacazette could start in Arsenal's Europa League quarter-final first leg against CSKA Moscow on Thursday - and Wenger has tipped him to shine.
The 26-year-old is hoping to make his first start since January 30 after returning from knee surgery.
The France international had scored just once in his last 11 league games before the injury lay-off but found the net on his return to action in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Stoke City last weekend.
Wenger's big decision will be whether to allow David Ospina to continue in goal or if he will give Petr Cech a return to European action in such an important fixture for the club.
Who should Arsene Wenger start in goal against CSKA Moscow?
Wenger quotes
Wenger said Lacazette had been troubled for weeks by the injury before he was eventually sidelined with the surgery.
"I think we are (ready to see the best of Lacazette) because I realise now that he was not himself for a while," he said. "That explains why his goals dried out...
It was not traumatic, he was a good player but I think in the last seven, eight games he played he was not completely free with his knee. Unfortunately in our job you need your body and that's why when you are not 100 per cent you cannot play well.
Match context
The Gunners will be pushing for what is their only remaining chance of winning a trophy this season.
Arsenal, who are sixth in the Premier League, are listed as the second favourites for Europa League glory with most bookmakers behind Atletico Madrid.
Wenger's side host Southampton on Sunday a full 13 points behind north London rivals Tottenham, who are in fourth place.
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Arsene Wenger
Image credit: Getty Images
Match facts
- These two sides have met just twice before in European competition, with Arsenal drawing blanks in the 2006-07 Champions League group stages – losing 0-1 away then drawing 0-0 at home.
- This is Arsenal’s first quarter-final tie in European competition since 2009-10 (v Barcelona in the Champions League), while they haven’t advanced from one since the season prior to that (v Villarreal in 2008-09).
- The Gunners haven’t lost the first leg of a quarter-final tie in European competition since March 1972 (v Ajax in the European Cup), winning four and drawing six of the 10 they’ve been involved in since.
- Wenger’s side are looking for their third consecutive victory in knockout games in European competition – they last did that in 1999/2000, when they won four consecutive games in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals.
- CSKA Moscow have reached the quarter-finals of a European competition for just the third time in their history – losing at this stage in the 2009-10 Champions League, although they won the UEFA Cup in 2004-05.
- Arsenal are the top-scoring team in the Europa League this season, scoring 23 goals at an average of 2.3 per game.
- The Gunners have had more different goalscorers than any other Europa League team in 2017/18, with 15 of their 27 outfield players used finding the net.
- Mesut Ozil averages an assist every 114 minutes in the Europa League; the best ratio of any player in competition history (min. 10 appearances).
- Igor Akinfeev has kept a clean sheet in three of his last six European games (excluding qualifiers), as many as he had kept in his previous 36.
- In fact, the Russian was in goal for CSKA when these sides met in 2006-07 Champions League group stage, keeping a clean sheet in both contests.
Additional reporting from Reuters, stats provided by Opta
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