Arsenal meet FC Vorskla on Thursday night as they begin their second adventure in the Europa League with the competition’s most experienced manager at the helm this time.
With few Arsenal fans aware of what they are likely to get from the game, here are some stats and facts courtesy of UEFA to give you a little flavour of what to expect.
Arsenal v FC Vorskla Poltava
2017/18 semi-finalists Arsenal return to the UEFA Europa League with a new coach in competition specialist Unai Emery and with a home fixture against Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava who, like the Gunners, qualified automatically for the group stage through their domestic league position.
Previous meetings
- Whereas Vorskla are meeting English opposition for the first time, Arsenal have faced Ukrainian clubs on ten previous occasions and have a perfectly even record of four wins, four defeats, 15 goals scored and the same number conceded.
- At home the London side are unbeaten against Ukrainian visitors, winning four of the five games, all in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and drawing the other – 1-1 against Dynamo Kyiv at Wembley Stadium in 1998/99, when the visitors scored an added-time equaliser.
Form guide
Arsenal
- The Gunners finished sixth in the 2017/18 Premier League – their lowest final placing under Arsène Wenger in his swansong season as manager after 22 years. It did earn them a second successive qualification for the UEFA Europa League group stage.
- UEFA Champions League ever-presents for 19 successive seasons until last term, Arsenal reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals at the first attempt, going out to eventual winners Atlético Madrid. Their home record during that run was W4 D2 L1, the only defeat coming in the round of 32 against Östersund (1-2) after they had won the first leg 3-0 in Sweden.
- The 1999/2000 UEFA Cup runners-up won last season’s UEFA Europa League group stage opener 3-1 at home to Köln. The last time the Gunners failed to win at home on matchday one was in 2003/04, when they lost 3-0 to Internazionale Milano at Highbury in the UEFA Champions League.
Vorskla
- Vorskla secured a place in this season’s UEFA Europa League group stage by finishing third in the 2017/18 Ukrainian Premier League – their joint-highest ever final placing, matching their achievement in 1996/97, when they qualified for Europe for the first time.
- This is the club’s seventh European campaign and their second in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They had to win three qualifying ties to make the grade in 2011/12, including a play-off success against Dinamo Bucureşti, but their six group games yielded just two points and bottom place in a section featuring Standard Liège, Hannover and FC København.
- It was in that tie against Dinamo that Vorskla claimed their last European away win (3-2). Since then five trips abroad have brought two draws and three defeats.
Links and trivia
- Arsenal’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan played in Ukraine from 2009–2013 for Metalurh Donetsk and Shakhtar Donetsk, scoring twice in the league against Vorskla for each club.
- Mkhitaryan played alongside Vorskla goalkeeper Bohdan Shust for both Donetsk clubs and was a team-mate of Olexandr Chyzhov at Shakhtar. He has also played with Gegam Kadimyan for the Armenian national side.
The coaches
After two years with Paris Saint-Germain that yielded seven domestic trophies, Unai Emery was appointed as Arsenal manager in May 2018, replacing long-serving Arsène Wenger.
The Spaniard oversaw Sevilla’s historic hattrick of successes in the UEFA Europa League from 2013/14 to 2015/16, having assumed control following a four-year tenure at Valencia and a brief stint at Spartak Moskva.
He has been in charge of more UEFA Europa League games than any other coach.
Team facts
Arsenal FC
Formed: 1886
Nickname: The Gunners
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
- UEFA Champions League: (2006)
- UEFA Cup: (2000)
- UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1): (1980), 1994, (1995)
- UEFA Super Cup: (1994)
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 13 (2004)
FA Cup: 13 (2017)
League Cup: 2 (1993)
Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise)
2017/18: semi-finals
2016/17: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2015/16: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2014/15: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2013/14: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2012/13: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2011/12: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2010/11: UEFA Champions League round of 16
2009/10: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals
2008/09: UEFA Champions League semi-finals
Records
UEFA club competition
- Biggest home win
7-0: Arsenal v Slavia Praha
23/10/07, UEFA Champions League group stage
- Biggest away win
0-7: Standard Liège v Arsenal
03/11/93, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup second round second leg
- Heaviest home defeat
1-5: Arsenal v Bayern München
07/03/17, UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg
- Heaviest away defeat
5-1 twice, most recently v Bayern München
15/02/17, UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg
4-0: AC Milan v Arsenal
15/02/12, UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg
UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup
- Biggest home win
6-0: Arsenal v BATE Borisov
07/12/17, group stage
- Biggest away win
1-4: Lokomotive Leipzig v Arsenal
27/09/78, first round second leg
0-3: Östersund v Arsenal
15/02/18, round of 32 first leg
- Heaviest home defeat
2-5: Arsenal v Spartak Moskva
29/09/82, first round second leg
- Heaviest away defeat
3-2 twice, most recently v Borussia Mönchengladbach
Arsenal FC – FC Vorskla Poltava Thursday 20 September 2018 – 21.00CET (20.00 local time)
25/09/96, first round second leg
2-1 twice, most recently v Deportivo La Coruña
09/03/00, fourth round second leg
1-0 four times, most recently v Atlético Madrid
03/05/18, semi-final second leg
FC Vorskla Poltava
Formed: 1955
Nickname: Zeleno-Bili (Green-and-Whites)
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
- none
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
Ukrainian Cup: 1 (2009)
Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise)
2017/18: did not take part in UEFA competition
2016/17: third qualifying round
2015/16: third qualifying round
2014/15: did not take part in UEFA competition
2013/14: did not take part in UEFA competition
2012/13: did not take part in UEFA competition
2011/12: group stage
2010/11: did not take part in UEFA competition
2009/10: play-offs
2008/09: did not take part in UEFA competition
Records
UEFA club competition
- Biggest home win
3-0 twice, most recently v Glentoran
21/07/11, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round second leg
- Biggest away win
0-3: Leiftur v Vorskla
20/06/98, UEFA Intertoto Cup first round first leg
- Heaviest home defeat
1-3: Vorskla v Standard Liège
03/11/11, UEFA Europa League group stage
0-2: Vorskla v Anderlecht
26/08/97, UEFA Cup second qualifying round second leg
- Heaviest away defeat
4-0: Benfica v Vorskla
20/08/09, UEFA Europa League play-offs first leg
UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup
- Biggest home win
3-0: Vorskla v Glentoran (see above)
- Biggest away win
1-3: Daugava v Vorskla
23/07/97, first qualifying round first leg
0-2 on three occasions, most recently v Sligo Rovers
04/08/11, third qualifying round second leg
- Heaviest home defeat
1-3: Vorskla v Standard Liège (see above)
0-2: Vorskla v Anderlecht (see above)
- Heaviest away defeat
4-0: Benfica v Vorskla (see above)
via UEFA