Arsenal vs Vorskla Predictions

It’s been a difficult and at times entertaining transition at the Emirates so far this season, with Unai Emery coming in to try and stamp his mark on a team that can barely remember the last time Arsene Wenger wasn’t in the dugout.

It didn’t go to plan at all at the start of the season as The Gunners succumbed to back to back defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea, but they have since found their stride under the new boss. A 3-1 victory over West Ham followed, and then a rather fortunate 3-2 win away to Cardiff. Saturday saw them pick up their third victory on the trot away to Newcastle, and you can almost feel the team building in confidence now.

Unai Emery is something of an Europa League specialist as well. The Spanish coach made history as the boss of Sevilla when he guided them to three consecutive Europa League crowns, and he’s already announced his intention to pick up a fourth winners medal with Arsenal this season. Considering they made it all the semi-finals last season before being eliminated by eventual winners Atletico Madrid, you certainly wouldn’t back against them enjoying another deep run.

This first challenge certainly shouldn’t pose too much of a threat for them. Vorskla aren’t exactly a household name in the footballing world, and this campaign represents just the second time they’ve made it as far as the group stages.

The first was back in the 2011/12 iteration, with them failing to win a single one of their group games and eventually finishing rock bottom. Since then they have endured a poor spell before bouncing back to European qualification in 2015, although in both that season and the 2016/17 campaign they failed to make it past the 3rd qualifying round.

Vorskla are undoubtedly the underdogs for this group, and we’re expecting Arsenal to make a statement of intent on Thursday. We’re expecting a strong squad selection from Emery as he looks for another piece of European silverware, but their vulnerable defence is still questionable. They have conceded nine goals in their five games this season, so Vorskla will fancy their chances going forward.

All of this points towards a potentially high scoring game. Three of Arsenal’s last four outings have seen four or more goals scored, and Vorskla’s last Europa League outing in August ended in a 3-2 defeat to Lokomotiv Zagreb. In fact, four of their last seven Europa League games have seen at least four goals, so we’re backing Over 3.5 Goals along with a 3-1 win for the hosts.