It was great to watch an Arsenal XI put together a really strong performance at Sheffield United on Sunday. The overall effort was superb, and the 3 points were desperately needed. Congrats to Alexandre Lacazette for scoring two goals, and also, a big pat on the back goes to Gabriel Martinelli who netted his first Arsenal goal in many a moon.
Yes, Sunday’s win at Sheffield was big, but the Gunners face an even more important task on Thursday with a trip to the Czech Republic and a 2nd leg quarterfinal Europa League match with Slavia Prague in the Sinobo Stadium.
After last week’s 1-1 first leg draw at Emirates Stadium with Slavia Prague, the Gunners need to score at least one goal more than their hosts to secure a place in the semifinals against either Dinamo Zagreb or Unai Emery’s Villarreal.
The Gunners have not failed to reach a European competition since the 1995-1996 season.
Meanwhile, Arteta injury woes continue to mount. Here’s his latest list from the medical staff…
David Luiz – Knee (Should return in a few weeks)
Kieran Tierney – Knee (Will probably miss the rest of this season)
Emile Smith Rowe – Ankle (Will probably miss the Slavia Prague match)
Martin Odegaard – Ankle (Will probably miss the Slavia Prague match)
Bukayo Saka – Thigh (Will certainly miss the Slavia Prague match)
Gabriel Martinelli – Ankle (Says he is ready to play v Slavia Prague)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Flu (Could be ready to play v Slavia Prague)
Arsenal should be able to put away Slavia Prague with ease, unless they revert back to the type of lazy and uninspiring performance we have saw v Liverpool. If this squad shows up to play with the same spirit and purpose they showed on Sunday, then GAME, SET, MATCH!
With that said, here is my predicted starting XI v Slavia Prague…
[4-2-3-1]
Lacazette
Aubameyang, Ceballos, Martinelli (or Pepe)
Xhaka, Partey
Cedric, Gabriel, Holding, Bellerin
Leno
Predicted final score…
Slavia Prague 1 – ARSENAL 3 [Gunners win 4-2 on aggregate]
COYG!
Gunner1953
Mikel Arteta said on Friday Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber are all in contention to be in the squad for Saturday’s match.
According to Graeme Bailey of TEAMtalk, Arsenal has intensified their interest in Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams as a top summer priority. 
Fabrizio Romano is reporting Calum McFarlane will be the Chelsea interim manager until the end of this season.
Arsenal Women have confirmed Manu Zinsberger will leave the club at the end of this season. The Austrian goalkeeper has totaled 51 cleans sheets in 143 appearances for the Gunners.
Stat of the Day: David Rays has made 53 saves and had 15 cleans sheets in 33 appearances this season for Arsenal.
American movie star Anne Hathaway on the Gunners title chances, “They better. I believe in Arsenal.”
Gabriel Magalhaes, “We need to be strong on Sunday, We are at this club to play these kind of games.”
Ten Premier League managers have been sacked this season, including three at Nottingham Forest, and two each at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Thank u that good. I also think of the same result. That 3-1 win to arsernal F.C.