Arsenal v Vorskla Poltava: Europa League – live!

20 September 2018 06:56
• Europa League updates from the 8pm BST Group E game• Bernd Leno set for chance to prove his worth in goal• Feel free to email Scott with your thoughts on the match 7.56pm BST You’d think BT Sport would be concentrating on the Arsenal game now. But they’re not. “That looks like cheap plastic veneer over chipboard in the Arsenal dressing room,” opines Bruce Jackson. And to think the halls at Highbury were made of marble. 7.50pm BST The early kick-offs have just finished. Chelsea have won at PAOK, while Rangers followed up a flat first half at Villarreal with a fine second 45, and came away with a deserved 2-2 draw. 7.26pm BST This is the most exciting shot I could find of the Arsenal dressing room ahead of the match. Bernd Leno’s shirt, hanging on a shoogly peg. 7.05pm BST The big news for Arsenal is the long-awaited debut of goalkeeper Bernd Leno. He’s one of eight changes to the team, replacing Petr Cech. Lucas Torreira makes his first start for the Gunners, shoring up the midfield alongside Mohamed Elneny, who appears for the first time this season. For the record, the three starters left standing from last weekend’s victory at Newcastle are Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Nacho Monreal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 7.01pm BST Arsenal: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Torreira, Mkhitaryan, Elneny, Iwobi, Aubameyang, Welbeck.Subs: Martinez, Bellerin, Lacazette, Ozil, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Smith-Rowe. Vorskla: Shust, Perduta, Dallku, Chesnakov, Artur, Kobakhidze, Kravchenko, Sharpar, Rebenok, Kulach, Kolomoets.Subs: Tkachenko, Giorgadze, Sklyar, Sergiychuk, Mysyk, Nicolas Careca, Sakiv. 12.22pm BST It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since Arsenal won a European trophy, Alan Smith, Parma, all that. There was some serious talent on display in Copenhagen that night of the 1994 Cup Winners Cup final: Smith, Paul Merson, Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, David Seaman, Thomas Brolin, Faustino Asprilla, Roberto Sensini, Gianfranco Zola. Ian Wright missed out through suspension. God I feel old. What point was I trying to make? Ah yes.They’ve had some near scrapes with triumph since. The 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona, principally, and the 2000 final of this competition’s predecessor, the Uefa Cup, against Galatasaray. But poor old Arsene Wenger was destined never to win a cup on the continent. For a wee while earlier this year, the fairytale swansong was on. But Atletico Madrid had too much savvy in the semis, and that was that. Related: Arsenal’s Bernd Leno gets chance to prove his worth against Vorskla Continue readingreadfullarticle

Source: TheGuardian