AFTV News

Arteta admits to having concerns following slow start in West Ham draw By Peter White If Thursday night’s Europa League clash against Olympiakos had set pulses racing among Gunners fans, Sunday’s dramatic draw at West Ham back on Premier League duty saw stress levels hit a new high.   Any suggestions that Arsenal should prioritise the continental competition had appeared to have got through to the starting XI in east London, who gifted the Hammers a 3-0 lead with little over half-an-hour gone.   Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard - fresh from his England recall - put the hosts in front after just 15 minutes, before Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek goals looked to have put the game to bed.   Defeat at the London Stadium would have opened up a ten-point gap between Arsenal and the fifth-placed Irons - and all but ended the Gunners’ hopes of qualifying for Europe through a top-six finish.   But Arsenal pulled one back before the break after Alexandr...

Arsenal must grasp Europa League opportunity with both hands following Slavia Prague draw By Jacob Newbury A place in Europe’s elite is still on offer for Mikel Arteta’s men. With aspirations of reaching the top four in the Premier League all but over, the UEFA Europa League still provides Arsenal with a realistic shot at returning to the crème de la crème of club competition. A quarter-final match-up against Slavia Prague is an enticing prospect, not least because the winners will face Dinamo Zagreb or Villarreal - not the strongest sides left in the draw. But avoiding Manchester United, Ajax and Roma in the quarter-finals and potentially the last four is fortunate - and Arsenal must capitalise. Of course, Slavia Prague should not be taken lightly. The Czech side have left Leicester City and Rangers in their tracks. But for Arsenal, the draw signals a real opportunity to reach a second UEFA Europa League final in three years. Arsenal faced Slavia Prague twice in the 2007/08 UEFA Champ...