The Europa League group stage has been and gone, and, if nothing else, it’s been a novel experience.
If fans were dreading that the Europa League wouldn’t be anywhere near as stimulating and significant as the Champions League, they were proven right. At times, the competition has lived up to its seedy reputation as a low-quality, low-interest grind for teams of Arsenal’s stature.
Yet, this year’s group stage hasn’t been without incident. While Arsenal comfortably topped their group to reach the knockout stage, there have been some moments of interest.
So as we look ahead to Monday’s round of 32 draw, here are five lessons and highlights from the group stage.
2. Jack Wilshere’s quality
Wilshere was turning into a myth due to his perpetual injury problems, but the midfielder turned plenty of heads with his displays in the Europa League.
Wilshere’s performance was reminiscent of his first full season as a teenager. Full of drive and clever touches, he quickly established himself as the most creative player in the rotated eleven, and had a hand in several of Arsenal goals.
While these performance will have done his first team prospects a lot of good, it was heartening to see him find his best form again after several difficult years at Arsenal.