Koscielny keen to avoid exit
Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny believes the quality of the Europa League is getting better each season and it is now much harder to win.
The Gunners were Champions League regulars under former boss Arsene Wenger but are involved in the Europa League for the second campaign in a row after missing out on a top-four spot in the Premier League again in 2017/18.
Arsenal are in danger of crashing out of the Europa League at the last-32 stage this season after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at BATE Borisov last week in Belarus.
Unai Emery's team are 11/2 to win Thursday's second leg 2-0 and 4/6 to keep a clean sheet in the match.
Meanwhile, they are available at 6/1 to win the Europa League outright this term and at 3/1 to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
French defender Koscielny said: "The Europa League is still a big competition. It is still a European cup, but of course when you are in the Champions League you want to be in there every year and next season we want to be in the Champions League.
"But the Europa League this season still has a lot of big teams, it is a top-level tournament. There is Chelsea, Napoli, Valencia so it I think it is a big competition, more than last year, and every year it is more intense.
"Last year Atletico Madrid won the cup, so for us it is big opportunity to go in the Champions League. Now we have a game in front of us to get to the next rounds and try to get to the final and be in the Champions League next season."
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Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny believes the quality of the Europa League is getting better each season and it is now much harder to win.
The Gunners were Champions League regulars under former boss Arsene Wenger but are involved in the Europa League for the second campaign in a row after missing out on a top-four spot in the Premier League again in 2017/18.
Arsenal are in danger of crashing out of the Europa League at the last-32 stage this season after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at BATE Borisov last week in Belarus.
Unai Emery's team are 11/2 to win Thursday's second leg 2-0 and 4/6 to keep a clean sheet in the match.
Meanwhile, they are available at 6/1 to win the Europa League outright this term and at 3/1 to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
French defender Koscielny said: "The Europa League is still a big competition. It is still a European cup, but of course when you are in the Champions League you want to be in there every year and next season we want to be in the Champions League.
"But the Europa League this season still has a lot of big teams, it is a top-level tournament. There is Chelsea, Napoli, Valencia so it I think it is a big competition, more than last year, and every year it is more intense.
"Last year Atletico Madrid won the cup, so for us it is big opportunity to go in the Champions League. Now we have a game in front of us to get to the next rounds and try to get to the final and be in the Champions League next season."
Source: bet365.com
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