Arsenal vs. CSKA - UEFA Europa League Preview
Published on March 22nd, 2018 - 4:32pm ESTWritten By: Ariel Noel
The 2017/18 UEFA Europa League quarter-final draw matched up Arsenal and CSKA, with the first leg match to take place on April 5th in London and the return leg on April 12th in Moscow.
Arsenal are among the favourites to win this season's Europa League, strengthened by the fact that the team is not doing so well in the English Premier League, where they are in 6th place at the moment and looking to miss qualification for Champions League. Winning the Europa League, of course, would ensure instant qualification to UCL group stage next season. The motivation will be high for Arsene Wenger's men to do just that. In the previous round of the competition, Arsenal eliminated AC Milan with ease, beating them 5-1 on aggregate.
Out of the eight teams remaining in the competition CSKA are the least likely to lift the trophy, according to the odds. They are currently third in the Russian Premier League standings and in the Round of 16 of the Europa League they fought to come from behind and beat Lyon on away goals. The aggregate score was 3-3. CSKA started this season in the Champions League, where they finished third in their group behind Manchester United and Basel.
The odds for the upcoming match at the Emirates stadium are:
Source: Bet365
Time Stamp: March 22nd, 2018 - 8:47am EST
Odds Subject to Change
Arsenal: 4/11
Draw: 7/2
CSKA: 17/2
Odds to progress to semi-finals:
Arsenal: 2/9
CSKA: 3/1
Odds to win the tournament:
Arsenal: 3/1
CSKA: 33/1
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Arsenal are the heavy favourites to progress to the semi-finals, but the truth is that the UEFA Europa League is very competitive and unpredictable, so nothing is for sure. Especially with a 2nd leg trip to Moscow coming up.
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The current market valuations of the two squads, according to Transfermarkt are:
Arsenal: €492m
CSKA: €102m
Arsenal's roster of players is almost five times more valuable on paper. The team star players Alexandre Lacazette (€55m) and Mesut Ozil (€50m) are worth more than the entire roster of CSKA. The Moscow based team is not without well known players though, and features a high level goalkeeper in Igor Akinfeev, an awesome striker Ahmed Musa and a 21-year old Russian international, midfielder with great potential, Alexandr Golovin.
It should be noted that Arsenal's recent high profile arrival, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, will not be able to play in Europe until next season, as he already competed for Borussia Dortmund before making a move to the Emirates.
CSKA will have to do without their star right-back Mario Fernandes, who is out with a hamstring injury. There is a chance he might be back for the second leg.
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Eight teams from eight different nations are left competing in the Europa League this season and things are looking exciting. If your live match of choice on Thursday, April 5th is Arsenal vs. CSKA, you are potentially in for a treat.
Let's see how things play out!