Arsenal v CSKA Moscow: Gunners to fashion an advantage in a thriller

Arsenal v CSKA Moscow
Thursday 05 April, 20:05
Live on BT Sport

With the hubbub of the race for the top four not an issue this term due to Arsenal’s inconsistency in the Premier League, Arsene Wenger’s team has been able to focus fully on the Europa League. Not only is it a route back into the Champions League, but it is important for Wenger to win a European trophy with the Gunners, something he has hitherto failed to do. Arsenal lost the UEFA Cup final to Galatasaray in 2000, and fell short in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona.

Arsenal have won their last four matches in all competitions, and they dismissed a decent Milan team 5-1 on aggregate in the previous round. All four of those victories have been by a margin of two goals or more. Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere says Arsenal have built up plenty of momentum heading into this quarter-final, and I’m inclined to agree.

Despite the absence of the cup-tied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal still have plenty of firepower at their disposal. Alexandre Lacazette scored against Stoke at the weekend, his first goal since mid-January, so he’ll be feeling refreshed psychologically. Behind him, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are capable of slicing open most defences, and Granit Xhaka is expected to supply his wild-eyed brand of intensity having been rested at the weekend.

There has always been a debate about whether experience and know-how can compensate for a lack of pace. Speed of thought versus speed of foot. Thursday night’s clash at the Emirates will be an interesting case study. CSKA’s three-man back line will contain the Berezutsky twins, Vasili and Aleksei, aged 35, and they’ll be joined by 38-year-old Sergei Ignashevich. Those three have 279 caps for Russia between them. However, all three rely on good positioning rather than a turn of pace, and they’ll be tested by an Arsenal attack that at times can play at dizzying speed.

CSKA have to be respected. They have won their last four matches, including a highly impressive 3-2 win at Lyon in the last 16, although that may say more about Lyon’s mental shortcomings rather than CSKA’s proficiency. In the Champions League they fell short, and were beaten twice by Manchester United in the group stage.

One thing that is worth bearing in mind is that CSKA will fancy themselves to score at least once in north London. They scored in all five of their Champions League away games, and they have rattled in eight goals in their last three road matches.

Arsenal’s odds of [1.36] for the outright win are too skinny to be of interest, and even though I believe they will win the match, we have to find a way to combine it with another market. Therefore, I recommend backing an Arsenal/Both Teams To Score double on the Sportsbook at a healthy 3/1.

Alternatively, you could just back Both Teams To Score at [2.2] on the Exchange.

After a debut season that’s been disrupted by injuries and the occasional wobble in confidence, Alexandre Lacazette has a chance to really impose himself on this competition, just as he did in the Europa League last season. He was simply sensational in the first leg of Lyon’s last-16 against Roma last term, and I think he can show on Thursday that he is a big game player.

You can back the Frenchman to score in the 90 minutes at evens.