Arsenal Vs Napoli: Fine line between being brave and foolish

Arsenal host Napoli in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night. As Unai Emery prepares his team, he must find the fine line between being brave and foolish.

Perhaps the biggest game of the season is on the horizon. While Arsenal are in the midst of a real tussle for a top-four finish in the Premier League, they will also be hoping to progress in the Europa League, a competition that offers both a chance to win a European trophy and qualification into next season’s Champions League.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

To progress in the Europa League, the Gunners must see past a very good Napoli team indeed in the quarter-finals. The first leg is at the Emirates on Thursday night. It is a game that Unai Emery must set his team up to win.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Thankfully for Emery and his players, Napoli arrive in north London bereft of confidence and form. They drew against the ten men of Genoa at the weekend and fell to relegation-threatened Empoli the week prior. They have not kept a clean sheet since March 7th. And manager Carlo Ancelotti has sent a warning sign to his players regarding the upcoming trip to London:

"“We’re defending badly at the moment, even when it was 11 against 10, and that means we cannot control the game. If you control the game, you don’t allow counter-attacks, you don’t let the opposition to turn and run at you. It’s an alarm bell, certainly, because if we play like this in London, then we’re in trouble. It is unusual to see Napoli doing that, so we have four days to focus back on the basics, because these are basics we’re getting wrong.”"

Given Arsenal’s current defensive shortcomings, especially if Granit Xhaka and Laurent Koscielny have not recovered from their respective injuries in time, I am sure that Emery is tempted to throw caution to the wind and really take the game to what seems to a somewhat vulnerable Napoli. And that temptation is only fanned by the horrific away form. A nice lead entering the second leg would be most welcome.

But there is an extremely fine line between bravery and foolishness. This is the line that Emery and his players must tread this Thursday. Yes, there is a clear opportunity to take the game to a team lacking in confidence and form. But if they are too attacking, they could find themselves caught out at the other end. And Napoli certainly have the players to take advantage of counter-attacking opportunities.

Lorenzo Insigne is expected to be fit after coming off the bench against Genoa, while the likes of Dries Mertens and Arkadiusz Milik have the nose for goal in the final third to carve through an exposed defence, if they are provided the service.

Realistically, Arsenal cannot afford to lose the first leg and expect to overturn the deficit in Naples. They really need a lead. And so, Emery may be tempted to chase it a little. But push too hard, and it would come to back to bite you. There is a fine line between being brave and foolish.