Arteta issues clarion call as depleted side face D-Day

LONDON • It is win or bust for Arsenal today.

Having conceded an away goal in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie with Slavia Prague - the game finished 1-1 - the Gunners must either defeat the Czech champions or come away with a 2-2 or greater draw.

Any other result will see the visitors stare down the barrel of possibly no European football for the first time since 1995-96, given they are ninth in the Premier League table with only seven games left.

Not only must Arsenal travel to Prague where their opponents are undefeated on their home ground this season but the runaway Czech league leaders have not tasted defeat in their last 23 matches in all competitions.

Mikel Arteta will also likely be forced to field an even weaker side than the one who played at the Emirates, although he confirmed that Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were on course to play.

Both David Luiz and Kieran Tierney are set to miss the rest of the season, while the Spaniard yesterday admitted he was unsure if captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Martin Odegaard will be fit.

The duo both missed training on Tuesday but even if they join the absentee list, Arteta refused to contemplate Arsenal not being in Europe next season.

"It's very important for us and this is our club. There's no individual interest, it's all a collective interest that we want to do well in every competition," he said yesterday.

"Tomorrow's game can put us in a position to go into the semi-final of a European competition. This is exactly where this club has to be and that's why tomorrow we have to do our best to earn that.

"The biggest game is the next game. In football, it's about the next game and that's the most important game in our lives. That's it and we cannot go any further than that."

If Arsenal get through, a reunion with former manager Unai Emery, who was fired in November 2019, may await, with his Villarreal side hosting Dinamo Zagreb with a 1-0 advantage.

In the other second-leg game involving an English club, Manchester United are huge favourites to reach the semi-finals after their 2-0 win in Granada last week, which should put an end to the Spanish side's first season in European football.

The Red Devils will be without captain Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay through suspension but the away goals should be enough for them to go through.

Should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men progress as expected, Roma or Dutch Eredivisie leaders Ajax will be their last-four opponents.

The Italians have had a poor domestic season and sit seventh in Serie A - seven points off the Champions League places - so Thursday's home second leg, which they lead 2-1, could define their season.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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