The Arsenal weaknesses that Napoli can look to exploit when they meet in the Europa League quarter-final
Arsenal have struggled away from home for the best part of two seasons now. Last season under Arsene Wenger, they only managed 4 wins in their 19 away games. This season the Gunners have slightly improved on that record, with 5 wins picked up on their travels so far, but they are the only club in England’s top four leagues not to have kept a single clean sheet away from home all season. The fact that two separate managers have been unable to address the away day blues that Arsenal have been suffering from would indicate that maybe the problem lies more in the mentality of the players, than the tactics employed by the managers.
Napoli meanwhile have a formidable home record, losing just once at the San Paolo all season, and even that defeat was a narrow one, losing 2-1 to Juventus despite being reduced to ten men in the first half. The San Paolo is a very tough place to go, as Liverpool found out to their cost earlier in the season when they lost there. The atmosphere will be electric, and Arsenal can expect an intimidating reception from the home fans. All of these factors suggests that Arsenal will need to make the most of their home advantage tomorrow in the first leg, as Napoli will likely be strong favourites to win the second leg in Italy in a weeks’ time.
The second area of weakness that Napoli could look to exploit, is Arsenal’s defenders themselves. Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has been outstanding since his return from an Achilles injury he picked up last season, but the centre-back is a strong fitness doubt for the first leg after injuring his foot against Rennes last month. If he fails his race for fitness that would mean Arsenal starting the much maligned Shkodran Mustafi. The former Sampdoria defender has never won over the hearts of the Arsenal fans, due to a series of high profile mistakes and a tendency to switch off at important times in games, costing the Gunners points on numerous occasions.
Arsenal will also be without Hector Bellerin, who is out for the rest of the season after he ruptured his ACL in January. Arsenal initially looked to former Juventus man Stephan Lichtsteiner to replace him, but have since started playing 3 at the back with wing backs, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been given the nod in the right wing-back role. While Maitland-Niles won a lot of praise for his early performances filling in there, lately his performances have tailed off slightly. Maitland-Niles is a central midfielder by trade, who has been used in wide range of positions over the past couple of seasons, but he is definitely not a natural wing back, and as a result sometimes he can be caught out both positionally and defensively. With Lorenzo Insigne expected to be fit to start the game tomorrow night, Maitland-Niles could be in for a tricky evening trying to contain Napoli’s captain and talisman.
Arsenal aren’t the only team with defensive worries however, as Napoli haven’t kept a clean sheet themselves since early March, a run stretching six games. With both teams seemingly stronger going forward than defensively, this promises to be an absorbing and entertaining tie, and one not to be missed. Napoli go into the match as slight favourites, and if they can come away with a draw or better tomorrow night, they will strongly fancy their chances of sealing their progress to the semis at home next Thursday.