Arsenal Vs Rennes: Don’t make the BATE mistake

Arsenal travel to Rennes for the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie on Thursday night. It is crucial they do not make the same BATE Borisov mistake.

Between now and the end of the season, Arsenal just one job: qualify for the Champions League. Other than the rather vague and undefined idea of ‘progress’, qualification for Europe’s elite competition was the main aim of the season. And, with a little over two months remaining, it is still a perfectly achievable goal.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — BATE Borisov and Mesut Ozil fanboys

What is good news for Unai Emery is that he has two ways of securing a place in the Champions League draw.

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There is the usual top-four finish in the Premier League — the Gunners currently sit one point out of the top four and will leap into it with a win on Sunday afternoon over Manchester United. But there is also a victory in the Europa League to fight for. Arsene Wenger fell in the semi-finals last season but Manchester United proved it is a viable strategy to steady the ship under Jose Mourinho two years ago.

In March, it will be the Europa League that is the focus of Arsenal’s attention. Such is the way that the calendar has fallen, next Sunday’s match versus Man. Utd is the only Premier League match that will be played until April. The next league match will not come until Monday, April 1st, against Newcastle United. In the meantime, the Gunners will take part in the Round of 16 Europa League, in which they face Rennes, the opening leg played this Thursday in France.

Like in the previous round against BATE Borisov, Arsenal are the favourites to come out on top. They are the better team and are well fancied to go far in the competition. Rennes have some dangerous attackers, no less than Hatem Ben-Arfa and Ismaila Sarr, but Emery’s side are still seen as the likely victors.

Last time out, however, they shockingly fell 1-0 to Borisov in the first leg, with Alexandre Lacazette getting sent off in the closing stages to add salt to the wounds. That put pressure on the second leg, a 3-0 victory, in the end, enough to comfortably see them through. But that pressure was completely and utterly needless.

The complacency of the first leg showing was contemptible. It put the team in a spot that they did not need to be in, and meant that Emery could not rotate for the second leg. During a busy second half of the season, that could cost the team later down the line. Player freshness is something to preserve, physically and mentally.

Arsenal will have the chance to put themselves in a commanding position on Thursday night. A 2-0 would essentially see them into the quarter-finals. It would ease the pressure in the second leg. It would allow Emery to rotate. Everyone could then breathe a little easier. But make the BATE mistake again, and Rennes are good enough to may them pay.