Arsenal’s trip to the Wanda Metropolitano will be Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger’s 250th European game in charge of the London-based club.
Arsene Wenger hopes to “leave on a high” as he sees out the last few weeks left of his stay with the Gunners, and as they face Atletico Madrid in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg, the Frenchman can’t wish for anything else other than a win.
Wenger will leave the club this summer after 22 years in charge, with several trophies to show for his meritorious service in developing English football.
Arsenal travel to Madrid to face Atletico with a 1-1 score-line in the kitty for both teams to do justice to, after a late equalizer by Griezmann at the Emirates gave the Spanish side an away goal advantage.
The Gunners need to score in the second leg clash (20.05 BST kick off) if they are to have a chance of qualification.
Arsenal’s only hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League is to win the Europa League.
“I don’t know what I will do next season,” said Wenger. “At the moment I think I would like to finish my job well.
“I believe a man has to give his best as long as he is somewhere, with all my commitment and energy I would like to walk out of Arsenal one day and think until the last day I focused only on Arsenal.
“When my job is finished at Arsenal I will see where I go from there but I want to finish this love story well.”
The Gunners have not fared well away from home in 2018 in the Premier League but the manager Wenger says their domestic record has no bearing on the game at Wanda Metropolitano.
“In Europe we have done well away from home and we just want to focus on the game and our performance,” he said. “The players will not be too worried about the Premier League form.”
On former Chelsea forward Diego Costa filing out for Atletico Madrid therefore posing as a threat to Arsenal’s defence and onward qualification, Wenger had this to say:
“He has shown that he can make a difference. He played in England and was successful but it is our job to keep him quiet. Maybe the best way to do that is to play in their half and not ours.
“Antoine Griezmann has done very well in Madrid and unfortunately he hurt us last week. He is a player I rate very much and he has made it away from home. I think he has had an exceptional career.”
On injury worries for the Gunners, Henrikh Mkhitaryan who went down with a knee injury and was substituted in a match again his former employers Manchester United could feature for the Gunners as he travelled with the team; David Ospina will likely retain the goalkeeping position at Madrid tonight.
Atletico Madrid on records boast of the meanest defence in the La Liga this season and Diego Simeone’s men have only conceded three goals at home in 2018.
But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes “history has to stop somewhere” as the Gunners aim to secure their third European final in his reign.
source: www.dabbsports.com