Who are Vorskla Poltava? A guide to Arsenal’s Europa League opponents

20 set 2018

Arsenal kick off their 2018/19 Europa League campaign tonight when they host Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava, from the city of Poltava. Alongside Qarabag, Vorskla are expected to struggle in Group E; with Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon much stronger opposition on paper. Despite this, Vorskla will be hoping to cause an upset when they travel to North London and do battle with Unai Emery’s side.

Vorskla currently sit in 5th place in the Ukranian Premier League, with 12 points after eight games. They have won four and lost four, scoring seven and conceding ten; meaning they are not in the best run of form and Arsenal could look to exploit this with a competent and, perhaps more importantly, confident performance.

Last season, Vorskla finished 3rd in the Ukranian Premier League, although some way behind Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donestk, who finished on 73 and 75 points in second and first respectively, compared to Vorskla’s final tally of 49 points.

Vorskla’s star player is captain Volodymyr Chesnakov, 29, a defensive midfielder/centre-back who has been at the club for his entire career. The free signing of 24-year-old Brazilian left-back Artur from Internacional in the summer has strengthened the Ukranian side’s back line, whilst Kosovar-Albanian centre-back Ardin Dallku has been capped for the Kosovo national team.

Vorskla typically play a 4-2-3-1 formation but have been known to switch to a 4-4-1-1 for certain fixtures. When facing tougher opposition, Vorskla commit a number of fouls, committing 19 compared to Shakhtar’s 7 when the two sides faced off at the start of August. Arsenal will be hoping to use their intricate passing and counter-attacking football to exploit holes and inconsistencies in Vorskla’s defence, which should lead to a comfortable victory for the Gunners.

For more news, views and features, visit our homepage.