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Mikel Arteta says that Arsenal’s Irish staff warned him about Dundalk’s “passionate underdogs” ahead of their Europa League encounter.
The 14-time champions from the Republic of Ireland make the short trip to the Emirates to face an Arsenal team that lost at home to Leicester on Sunday, although they won their first European match against Rapid Vienna, as Dundalk lost to them. Mold, despite taking a first. half lead.
The gap between the two teams is huge in terms of quality, finances and resources, but Arteta knows that his team will have a tough match against a team that has nothing to lose after qualifying for the Europa League group stage for a second time in its history.
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Dundalk are ranked 127th in the 2020/21 UEFA club coefficients, making them the top-ranked Irish team in Europe, and in 2016 they became the first team from Ireland to win a match in a phase. of groups of the European competition.
“We have some Irish staff here,” said Arteta, whose team reached the final of the Europa League in 2019 but was knocked out in the knockout stage last season when he was stunned 2-1 at home to Olympiakos in Greece.
Mikel Arteta’s team will look to bounce back from their loss to Leicester
“I have heard some really positive things about Dundalk. What I have seen is a really determined coach, how close they are, they are very well organized and they fight very hard.
“They will come here with incredible passion. They are the underdog. That will give them a lot of energy and I hope they are at full throttle trying to beat us here.”
“This is football. I have seen a lot of things in this game and I never take anything for granted. I always hope that the opponent is at his best. We will see what happens.”
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Arteta confirmed that center back David Luiz will not be fit for Thursday’s clash and is a “big doubt” for Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United – live Sky Sports Premier League – while Willian can face Dundalk.
“No chance [David Luiz will face Dundalk]Arteta added. It is also a great doubt for the weekend. Willian is back in training, he could be involved at some point. Bukayo Saka is fine, it was a hit, but she’s fine. “
Arterta, however, suggested he can rotate his team on Thursday with an eye on Sunday’s clash with United.
“We try to go game by game, but obviously in the last 10 days we have had a lot of problems. [with injury] in the back with the centrals, “he said.
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“We have to manage that position very carefully, because if we lose another we will get into a big problem. Of course, we have to watch how we manage the squad.”
With discussions about a European Premier League, Arteta was also asked about the strength of English teams after all Premier League teams won their first Champions League and Europa League matches.
“In the last eight or 10 months, equipment improvements [in England] in terms of quality and organization, the way they are competing has been the biggest I’ve seen in recent years, “he added.
“All teams can win by a large margin. In my opinion, this is not a coincidence. The league is in a great place right now.”
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