Arsenal will be aiming to continue from their impressive form in the Europa League when they host Standard Liege on Thursday at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners overcame, arguably, what will be their toughest task of the group stage, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 in Germany, a game that was much tighter than the scoreline suggests. While Unai Emery has received his fair share of criticism this season, it has gone unnoticed that Arsenal have still managed to put together a six-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Standard also join the Gunners on three points after getting the better of Vitoria de Guimaraes, leaving top spot up for grabs in Group F. The team have also recorded six wins and a draw from their opening nine matches in Belgium’s top flight, leaving them in second position in the standings behind Club Brugge.
Head to Head
Arsenal have won all four encounters with Standard Liège in European competition, netting 15 goals in the process.
These two sides met in the group stage of the 2009/10 Champions League, Arsenal coming out on top in both fixtures. Goals from Samir Nasri and Denilson helped the Gunners to a 2-0 win in the only meeting between these two at the Emirates.
Standard Liège have lost seven of their eight trips to England in all European competition, with the only exception being a 2-2 draw with Everton during the 2008/09 UEFA Cup.
Possible Line Ups
Arsenal: Martinez; Bellerin, Mustafi, Holding, Tierney; Torreira, Ceballos; Nelson, Willock, Ozil; Martinelli
Standard Liege: Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Vanheusden, Laifis, Gavory; Bastien, Bokadi, M’Poku; Carcela-Gonzalez, Emond, Limbombe
Betting Tips
While Emery making changes to his side will, in theory, give Standard more chance of causing a surprise, we feel that Arsenal should still come through this fixture with minimal fuss to put themselves in control of the group.