Europa League

MANCHESTER UNITED are set to ring the changes for the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Granada with a TRIO of starters suspended.Captain Harry Maguire, left-back Luke Shaw and influential midfielder Scott McTominay are all out of Thursday’s game at Old Trafford after picking up yellow cards in the 2-0 win in last week’s first leg.

Axel Tuanzebe is set for a rare startCredit: Getty
Teenage defender Will Fish has been called up by Ole Gunnar SolskjaerCredit: Getty
And Axel Tuanzebe could be the beneficiary with the 23-year-old in line for a rare start.
Youngster Will Fish, 18, has also been promoted to the senior squad for the game with Eric Bailly still unavailable after testing positive for Covid-19.
Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Tuanzebe can slot into the back four seamlessly despite having seen just 554 minutes of action in all competitions this season.
The Norwegian said: “Axel has always been a very positive boy and hardworking.
“Victor and Harry have played, they’ve formed a very good partnership.
“Eric’s come in and played really well when he’s played so his [Axel’s] chances have been limited, but he’s been training well and he’s ready for this opportunity.”
Fish is the only other recognised centre-back available and although he is still eligible for the Under-18 side has captained Neil Wood’s Under-23s on several occasions this term.
He joins fellow unknown quantity Anthony Elanga in the squad after the wideman got the call-up ahead of the first leg.

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Paul Pogba is set to continue on the left with Marcus Rashford carrying a knock.
Dan James is set to return after missing the comeback win over Spurs with a blow from the first game against Granada, although he may not be risked from the start.
Mason Greenwood is set to start on the right after excelling off the bench at the weekend, providing a goal and an assist in a late cameo.
With Anthony Martial KO’d for the season, Edinson Cavani will continue through the middle.
Either the experienced Serb Nemanja Matic or Dutchman Donny van de Beek will be given the chance to impress in the absence of Scot McTominay.

Alex Telles will take Luke Shaw’s spot with Lindelof and Tuanzebe set to form a new partnership with Aaron Wan-Bissaka continuing at right-back.
David De Gea is likely to get the nod in the Europa League again after starting last week but Solskajer could choose to go with in-form Dean Henderson after he was praised for his performance against Spurs.
Solskjaer added: “It’s never a positive thing to not have every player available.
“But we’ve got players ready to deputise and come into the team.
“Of course, the [bookings] amnesty is after this quarter-final so we hoped to get them through but there are some easy easy yellow cards there that the referee handed out. But we’re ready to deal with that.
“We have to make sure that we get through. I always pick a team to win a game. There will be a few changes – some of them are forced and some of them are maybe rotation.”
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THERE are some huge decisions for Mikel Arteta ahead of Thursday’s Slavia Prague clash but we fickle fans demonstrate it is not easy being the boss.Despite a formidable home record and some notable scalps in Europe, the Czech champions showed little to frighten Arsenal last week.
Mikel Arteta has some huge dilemmas to work out as Arsenal take on Slavia PragueCredit: AFP
The home draw was far more about Arteta’s team set-up, the failure to take well-created chances and, of course, the obligatory defensive lapse.
With the injuries in the squad and the sheer inconsistency of performances, both from individuals and the selected collective, how to approach the Europa League quarter-final second leg is far from straightforward.
I thought it might be somewhat amusing to run through the inconsistency of our own ‘selections’ and observations as supporters of late.
If you like, a light-hearted way to highlight the dilemmas…
PARTEY POOPER
Apparently, Sunday proved that Thomas Partey has been overshadowed by Granit Xhaka, as all our play comes through the Swiss.
It is all Xhaka’s fault for limiting the scope of Partey and as soon as he is not alongside him, we see the player we thought we had signed.
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Thomas Partey is a better player when not alongside Granit Xhaka in midfieldCredit: Reuters

The same fans were posting and retweeting disparaging observations suggesting that in Partey, we thought we were getting the new Patrick Vieira but instead we got the old Alex Song.
SAK AT THE BACK
Without Kieran Tierney, many suggested Arteta should utilise Saka at left-back.
This was met with many asking, ‘why would we play our best attacking creator at left-back?’
Debate rages on over who should be playing at left-back in Kieran Tierney’s absenceCredit: Reuters
Are these the same fans who have watched Tierney being our best attacking threat from left-back all season?
These same supporters thought it far better to play a natural full-back there in Cedric, even on his ‘wrong’ side, and then cursed the Portuguese international for turning back on to his right foot rather than clearing with his left in injury time.
THE XHAK CRACK
Following this logic, perhaps those who have decided after the last two matches that they want a left-footed left-back and do not want Xhaka to play with Partey in central midfield will be delighted if the intelligent Swiss stays at left-back this week?
GAB-SMACKED
The same fans lauded Gabriel as the new Sol Campbell last autumn.
Now they feel he perhaps throws himself to the ground too easily, makes rash decisions.
Some supporters worry Gabriel is too quick to go to ground and prefer Pablo Mari at centre-backCredit: PA
It turns out apparently they genuinely always knew that Pablo Mari, who we did not want because of his agent, was a better footballer.
LACA THE LEADER
Of course, the biggest U-turn of all from us Gooners is the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette reversal.
We have gone from waxing lyrical about the bromance and special chemistry that led us all to want both on the pitch, however the manager fudged it.
And we have gone to demanding one or the other through the middle.
Alexandre Lacazette may be the option to lead the line rather than Pierre-Emerick AubameyangCredit: PA
And now we insist Lacazette can play the solo striker role and our skipper cannot.
The last reversal happened within three days.
Lacazette was so bad against Prague and we improved when Aubameyang came on, such that we all criticised Arteta for not starting his skipper.
Followed inevitably by a thought that perhaps Lacazette could be given a new deal to mentor Folarin Balogun and we could sell Auba.
GET HIM MART-IN-ELLI
The last excruciating dilemma on Aubameyang and Lacazette is now further complicated by the fact Gabriel Martinelli came through (relatively) unscathed and is fit for this week.
We have all wanted the young Brazilian to be reintroduced but perhaps we did not envisage this would be at the expense of our captain and, until recently, the team’s talisman and hero.

Gabriel Martinelli looks like he could be back in the Gunners fold – at the expense of the club captainCredit: EPA
In short, none of us have consistency of opinions, and recent impressive or poor performances, by the team or individuals easily sway us.
We even convince ourselves that we had always held that view on occasion but expect Arteta to know and get it right on every occasion.
Yes, it is why he is in the job and not us, and why he is paid the big salary and we aren’t.
It is also why he simply must get it right this week and if I were a betting man, I would not put money on Lacazette and Aubameyang both starting.
A huge call for a young Arsenal manager…

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ROMA’S Riccardo Calafiori does not respect the Ajax ballboy who hurled a ball at him in a bid to stop his time-wasting – but understands their actions.The Italian left-back, 18, had a ball fired towards his face after dropping one that was handed to him by the ballboy to go after one that was further away in the 93rd minute.
Roma’s Riccardo Calafiori understands why the ballboy launched the ball at himCredit: Getty
An Ajax ballboy did not react well to Calafiori’s time-wasting, hurling a ball at him
Despite the ballboy’s angry action it was the Italian who was booked
Calafiori was booked for his antics at the end of the 2-1 win in the Europa League quarter-final first leg.
And he told Sky Sport Italia: “I thought many things at that moment…
“Fortunately, I managed to stay calm.
“I will say that seeing your opponent waste time in a situation like that would’ve irritated me too.
“I won’t say I respect him, but I do understand.”
The ball made contact with Calafiori’s upper chest area and it was plain to see the footballer’s instinct to go down and feign fatal injury was about to kick in.
But he came to his senses just before he hit the deck and decided to give the youngster a talking to instead.
Calafiori was subbed on after 28 minutes for the injured Leonardo Spinazzola and remonstrated angrily with the masked kid late on – who was still trying to thrust another ball into his hands so he would get on with the game.
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Just as the altercation was coming to an end, the referee arrived and brandished the yellow card at the Roma star for his original deliberate slow play.
Despite the ballboy’s best efforts, the Serie A side held on for another 30 seconds to close out the game.
Davy Klaassen had opened the scoring for Ajax after 39 minutes with a well worked goal that he slotted home from 12 yards.
But Lorenzo Pellegrini levelled the scores just before the hour mark when his free-kick somehow slipped through Kjell Scherpen’s hands.

And Ibanez bagged Roma’s second away goal to seal the win with a stunning half volley with just three minutes of normal time left.
On the match action, Calafiori added: “It wasn’t easy to come on in this situation, but my team-mates helped and it went better in the second-half.
“Seeing the penalty saved gave us an extra boost, and we proved that we are a strong team.
“You could tell in the locker room that we wanted to win at all costs and we did it.
“This is a united team and we want to go all the way in this competition.”
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