BATE Borisov 2 Arsenal 4: Olivier Giroud brings up his century as young guns impress

Olivier Giroud scored his 100th goal for Arsenal
Olivier Giroud scored his 100th goal for Arsenal Credit: VASILY FEDOSENKO/REUTERS

Turns out there are some things you can win with kids. Arsene Wenger’s strikingly-young team returned from Belarus with a win, no injuries and a few light palpitations. There were two goals for Theo Walcott, one for Rob Holding and one for Olivier Giroud. And yet Arsenal made things far harder for themselves than they really needed to, doing far more defending than they really wanted to, twice allowing BATE Borisov back into a game that should have been over within the first 25 minutes.

That it was not reflects well on BATE, roared on by a capacity crowd of 17,000 and good enough to threaten for long periods. Their 18 shots on goal - two more than Arsenal - told a tale of flimsy defending, fine goalkeeping by David Ospina and a team that still has a tendency to misplace its composure at the most inopportune moments.

“We had good cohesion and played football like I want them to play, with a good pace,” Wenger said. “We maintained it for 65 minutes, and then the last 20 minutes were a bit more difficult.”

Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere was the star of the show, playing as a kind of wide No10 Credit: Adam Hold/Action Images via Reuters

None of which is really an indictment on Arsenal’s young players, all of whom excelled to varying degrees. Joe Willock, 18, was especially good in the centre of midfield, tidy in possession and happy to receive under pressure. The wing-backs, Reiss Nelson on the right and Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the left, still have some work to do on the defensive side of their game. But certainly neither was overawed.

And for all their minor inconveniences, Arsenal were generally the better side: quicker to the second balls, technically slicker and physically superior, which has not always been the case. It was evident in the way Walcott shrugged off his marker to latch onto Jack Wilshere’s sumptuous through ball and hit the post early on. It was evident in the third Arsenal goal, too, Per Mertesacker leaping highest to flick on Walcott’s corner and give Holding a simple tap-in.

Walcott notched the goals, but in many ways Wilshere was the star of the show. Playing as a sort of wide No 10, Wilshere created the first goal, crossing for Walcott to head home, and had a part in the second, pressuring goalkeeper Denis Scherbitski to pass the ball straight to Walcott 20 yards out. The desire is still there, even if tougher tests await.

“He's on his way back to his best,” Wenger said. “I just pray he is not hampered by any more [injury] problems.”

Three-nil up, Arsenal should really have been home. Instead, they did the worst thing you can do against weaker opposition: give them belief. BATE struck at the pressure points in Arsenal’s 3-4-3 formation - the wide areas - and were handsomely rewarded as Arsenal proved as incapable of preventing crosses as dealing with them.

Joseph Willock
Eighteen-year-old Joe Willock, on his first start, was very good in midfield Credit: EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH

Minutes after Arsenal’s third goal, Mirko Ivanic drifted towards the near post to head the ball in. Giroud’s penalty early in the second half - his 100th goal for Arsenal - seemed to settle them again. But on the hour, BATE hit back. More carnage down the Arsenal right: a cross not deterred, a cross not cleared, Mertesacker left on his backside as Mikhail Gordeichuk slammed home from close range. It could have been worse for Arsenal: Aleksandr Volodko missed a superb opportunity to make it 4-3 with 20 minutes to go, which really would have put Arsenal in the borsch.

So in a way, everybody got what they came for. The BATE fans got a rousing night’s entertainment and two fine goals to warm the spirit. Wilshere got some valuable minutes in the bank. Wenger got a good look at the next generation, even if ideally he would have wanted to change things around before the 79th minute. And Brighton, their next opponents on Sunday, got plenty of encouragement. Because, for all the quality in this Arsenal squad, they will always give you a chance.

                                                                                                    

The final two goals

Giroud sends the keeper the wrong way from the spot Credit: AP Photo/Sergei Grits
Gordeichuk makes it 2-4 with a riser Credit: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

 

Here's the group

Credit: BT SPORT

 

Full time

Arsenal will leave Belarus with a 4-2 victory by virtue of some slick attacking play, a fine first-half performance from Jack Wilshere rolling back the years to pull the strings around the box, and some dreadful jitters at the back. Mirko Ivanic, Aleksei Rios and Igor Stasevich were all dangerous and the No10, Ivanic, looks a very good player indeed.  

90+2 min

Nketiah was caught offside by half a yard when bursting on to Giroud's 'one' in a one-two. From the free-kick, BATE knock it long, win a corner and Holding heads it clear. Rios goes for broke with a 30-yard up and under that lands on the roof of the net. That's the signal for the ref to call time on this very enjoyable game. 

90+1 min

The first of two added minutes and Arsenal are killing time with some back five keepball. 

90 min

The ball comes across the Arsenal box, bending out towards the D. Gordeichuk takes a neat touch, spins and backheels to Rios who fires a shot yards over. 

89 min

Arsenal sub: Edward Nketiah replaces Joe Willock. 

87 min

John Hartson advises no Arsenal player to hold a Borisov shirt because this referee will 'even it up'. Would it be wrong if he did if they were guilty of the same infringement? No, but you wouldn't divine that from Hartson's tone. 

86 min

Willock mugs Dragun on the left, just inside the BATE half and storms forward. He has Maitland-Niles to his left ins pace but chooses to go through the middle and is blocked by Gaiduchik who launches a rapid counter. Arsenal bundle it out for a corner through sheer force of numbers. 

85 min

Baga replaces Volodko for BATE. 

83 min

Maitland-Niles brings it in from the left, passes to McGuane who was 20 yards from goal to the right. He takes a touch and slips a cute pass down the inside-right channel for Walcott who skews a shot so badly it almost stays on the horizontal. He had Wilshere and Giroud far better placed and they look thoroughly exasperated. 

81 min

Giroud spots the erratic Scherbitski off his line and spanks his attempted 22-yard lob over the bar. 

80 min

Stasevich cuts infield from the left and sends a dipping cross to the far side of the box. Maitland-Niles had diligently tucked in and dived to head it away. 

79 min

Arsenal can't keep hold of the ball. The English disease. They're going to make their first change: Marcus McGuane replaces Reiss Nelson. 

77 min

Nelson brings the ball infield, skitters across the 18-yard line and overhits a throughball to Giroud who has to snatch at it because it came too quickly. By doing so he drags his foot across the line and slices it wide. 

75 min

Now Mustafi lets Stasevich sprint past him on the outside and rifle a low left-foot shot in at the near post. Ospina is down quickly to smother it. 

74 min

Ospina salves his defenders' nerves with a good shout, run and clean catch of an outswinging free-kick. 

72 min

Arsenal look rattled at the back and so dangerous up front. To paraphrase Graham Gooch about Sir Dick Hadlee and New Zealand, it's like a world XI at one end and Ilford Seconds at the other. 

70 min

Golden opportunity for BATE when an error by Mustafi, showing Signevich the inside, allows the sub to bomb past Nelson and square to Volodko 15 yards out. He meets it with his left foot with no blocker in his way and steers it high, wide and hideous. 

67 min

Metersacker slides into a tackle on Ivanicon the left of the Arsenal box. The ball balloons up and Signevich gets there unmarked because Holding slips on to his Aris. The striker heads it at Ospina who blocks sharply from five yards and Gordeichuk smacked it cleverly into the roof of the net from a couple of yards out. 

 

GOAL!!

BATE 2-4 Arsenal (Gordeichuk)

64 min

Arsenal free-kick on the right, parallel with the 18 yard line caused by Milunovic's foul. Wilshere takes with his left foot ... and hits the first BATE sentry. 

62 min

Rios bends a right-foot shot with the outside of his boot round the post from 25 yards with tremendous power. The slightest opportunity arose because Holding and Mertesacker had combined well to block Stasevich and Signevich's attempts to get the ball from under the feet to shoot.  

60 min

Ospina catches a loopy header from Signevich under the crossbar and thirty seconds later the substitute centre-forward steers Stasevich's right-wing cross over. 

59 min

Stasevich whacks a 30-yard shot miles over Ospina's goal. Bit daft that. 

57 min

Chance for BATE, again from a cross. Signevich is up like the proverbial Oncorhynchus and spears a glancing header towards goal. Ospina dives smartly to push it away. 

54 min

BATE sub - Signevich, another 'boyhood Arsenal fan' replaces Rodionov. It's because of Alex Hleb, that lovely dribbler, that so many Belarusians are Arsenal supporters. 

53 min

Going back to that penalty - it was a very timid shirt pull. Nothing like as blatant as David Luiz's last night. 

51 min

It's always been a question of judgment with Walcott and again he gives his ranks of detractors ammunition (and Wilshere too) when, instead of rolling a pass to Wilshere on the left of the box and with an unhindered path to goal for his shot, he had a speculative dig with his left-foot swinger himself and sliced it over the bar. Wilshere gives him an earful but he is, I suppose, on a hat-trick. 

49 min

A century of Arsenal goals for Olivier Giroud - he gave the keeper the eyes and slotted it in the opposite corner. 

 

GOAL!!

BATE 1-4 Arsenal (Giroud, pen)

48 min

And the ref gives a penalty for a shirt-pull on Mustafi who made a meal of it ...

47 min

Arsenal free-kick on the right for Volodko's foul on Nelson, sliding in and sending him flying. Walcott crosses deep into the box ...

46 min

We're off and I have to concur (for once) with Martin Keown. Milunovic should have been sent off for whacking Willock in the face with his swinging arm. 

And a blast from the past

Wilshere's famous bodyswerve:

Jack Wilshere had a fine first half in Belarus Credit: ADAM HOLT/ACTION IMAGES

 

And one for you BATE fans

Ivanic bullets the ball past Elneny and Ospina Credit:  REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

 

Walcott's second

Walcott turns the ball past the man who set him up, Denis Schebertski Credit: AP Photo/Sergei Grits
Theo Walcott celebrates his second Credit:  Reuters/Adam Holt

 

Some photos of the goals for your delectation

Walcott's first:

Theo Walcott turns in Arsenal's first Credit: MAXIM MALINOVSKY/AFP/Getty Images

 

Half-time

BATE aren't much at the back but nontheless it has been an impressive attacking performance so far from Arsenal. Their system leaves plenty of space behind the gifted but callow wing-backs and BATE have exploited it too many times for Wenger's liking nut Arsenal have deserved their comprehensive lead so far. 

 

45+1 min

 Only a minute of stoppage time to be played and Arsenal see it out with a spell of possession until the whistle sends them in. 

 

44 min

Tight hat-trick chance for Walcott from an angle of about 15 degrees. He does everything right to drill it towards the bottom far corner but is thwarted by Schebertski's fine full-length save. A minute before that Nelson was hacked down at the ankles by Stasevich. 

41 min

Milunovic catches Willock right on the hooter with his right arm thrust back as the Arsenal midfielder was chasing him. BT Sport think it should have been a red card, but one isn't shown. Arsene Wenger folds his arms and gives the ref a very hard stare. 

40 min

Holding slides into Rios with one foot raised. "They don't like to see that, the studs, in Europe," says Hartson who may be about to explain the virtues of Brexit given the disdain with which he said it. Who likes a studs-up lunge? 

39 min

Elneny chips a long pass from the centre to the left of the box. Giroud reaches it at the apex of his leap but he cannot do much other than head it straight up. 

37 min

Wilshere is having a fine game so far, scheming and probing, running with the old joie de vivre. John Hartson is lapping it up. 

35 min

Arsenal corner earned after a run from Maitland-Niles and a clever pass from Giroud. Comes to naught as Schebertski slaps it clear. 

33 min

This is an open, enthralling, fun game but far too end-to-end for Arsenal's liking. With Maitland-Niles and Nelson pushed so high, there is space in the inside-forward and outside-forward channels. Stasevich gets in down the left again, pulls the cross back to the lively, skilful Ivanic who blasts a half-volley too close to Ospina from 18 yards.  

31 min

Just elicited a fine save from Ospina from a free-kick on the left, a hooping inswinger that was met by Rodionov and the keeper had to tip around the post at full stretch. Would have been a corner but for a late, justified, offside flag. 

29 min

They've been much improved since the goal and ...

27 min

Made by a one-two between Rios and Gordeichuk that set up the right-back to spear in a wonderful cross that was bullet-headed in at the near post by the spring-heeled Ivanic.  

 

GOAL!!

BATE 1-3 Arsenal (Ivanic)

25 min

Arsenal win a corner when a gorgeous, diagonal pass from Wilshere splits the defence and puts Maitland-Niles through in the box and a couple of yards from the byline. He squares it to Giroud and Schebertski saves from two yards with his feet, knocking it behind. Walcott takes. Mertesacker wins the header at the front of the six-yard box and crashes it into Holding and the deflection takes it past the keeper.  

 

GOAL!!

BATE 0-3 Arsenal (Holding)

22 min

Hell's teeth. Schebertski, 'a boyhood Arsenal fan', we are told shanks a pass straight to Walcott 20 yards out who steers his shot past him. When I say shank it, it was if he hadn't seen him rather than a poor connection.

 

GOAL!!

BATE 0-2 Arsenal (Walcott)

20 min

First flickers from BATE. Giroud loses the ball and Stasevich attacks up the left, crossing on the run. Holding manages to block it out to the edge of the area and Ivanic clatters his half-volley into the ground and sends it bouncing a yard past Ospina's right post.  Thirty seconds earlier Ivanic had had a dig from about 35 yards and ballooned it into touch. 

18 min

Walcott is flagged offside. Like Pippo Inzaghi, his reputation precedes him. Even when he's onside he is denied the benefit of the doubt. 

16 min

Walcott almost repays Wilshere with an assist and would have done but for a poor decision by the linesman. Wilshere works the ball out to the right to Walcott with a diagonal pass and bombs into the box for the return. He was clever enough to bend his run and was level when he received the centre and hooked it past Schebertski. 

14 min

The kids are alright for Arsene and the Who tonight. Nelson, Willock and Maitland-Niles are playing fearlessly and with intrepid drive. 

12 min

Volodko with a nasty foul on Willock, 25 yards out on the left by the touchline. Willock diddled him and was about to accelerate past when Volodko caught him on the achilles. No booking but he deserved one. 

10 min

Well worked - Wilshere with his velvet cushion feet, plays a cute one-two with Giroud, turns on a burst of pace when he receives it back and stands up a cross to the middle of the goal for Walcott to turn in with a flick of the head. Wilshere was supposed to have lost that ability to go from nought to sixty in scorching style. 

 

GOAL!!

BATE 0-1 Arsenal (Walcott)

8 min

Nelson hares infield from the right touchline to seize the initiative and helps the ball through to Wilshere two yards in front of the D. Wilshere threads a precisely weighted pass through for Walcott's run and as Schebertski scrambles to close him down, he stabs a shot at the foot of the post. 

7 min

Nothing comes of it as Holding closes down Satsevich's space and he responds with a cross from the left that sails beyond the goal and out of play for a goalkick. 

5 min

A thumping overhead welly from Maitland-Niles on halfway launches the ball out for a goalkick. Extraordinary. Rios closes the left wing-back down as he goes up to head the goakick away and BATE move up the left. 

4 min

Nice turn from Willock. He has a good touch and looks like a powerful runner, tearing forward and finding Maitland-Niles who is dispossessed. 

3 min

Elneny wins the ball 40 yards from goal but his harum scarum approach to a passing quadrilateral, far too quick and forceful, ends with an interception from Dragun. He sets Gordeichuk off up the right to chase a long pass but Mertesacker gets there first. 

1 min

Huddles and high fives over, we get underway. Nice to see a goalkeeper, Denis Schebertski, in the customary No48 shirt. Tradition! As Topol would put it. Nelson goes up the right, checks back and passes to Holding who fires a 40-yard ball up towards Walcott who had jumped the gun. Offside and a BATE free-kick. 

Out come the teams

Arsenal in blue, the tractor boys in yellow. Hands are shaken and pennants exchanged. Where do you find a good pennant supplier these days? 

Teams in the trad style

Here are the teams, including the famous  Borisov Automobile and Tractor Electronics:

BATE Scherbitski, Rios, Gajduchik, Milunovic, Polyakov,  Aleksandr Volodjko, Dragun, Gordeichuk, Ivanic, Stasevich,  Rodionov.
Subs Veremko, Yablonskiy, Berezkin, Signevich,  Tuominem, Baha, Maksim Volodjko. 

It's that man again ... Credit: ADAM HOLT/Action Images

Arsenal Ospina, Nelson, Mustafi, Mertesacker, Holding,  Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock, Elneny, Wilshere, Walcott, Giroud. 
Subs Macey, Akpom, Da Silva, Dragomir, Gilmour, McGuane,  Nketiah. 

Referee Daniel Stefanski (Poland) 

Welcome to Belarus

It's 17 years since Arsenal have played an away Uefa Cup tie and they're so delighted about it they are bound to do a Cologne on the Borisov Arena. There's only 13,000 seats but the 50,000 North Londoners who have travelled to Belarus are going to make the town their own tonight. Here's the first wave of the invasion:

Credit: Action Images via Reuters/Adam Holt

 

Arsenal have named their XI

And here it is:

 Joe Willock makes his first start. 

Pre-match package

What is it?

It's the Europa League group stage match between Belarusian side BATE Borisov and Arsenal. 

When is it?

On Thursday September 28. 

What time is kick-off?

It's at 6pm BST. 

What TV channel is it on?

BT Sport 2, with the build-up starting at 5.30. Or you can follow it all here with our live blog. 

Olivier Giroud is expected to start for Arsenal

What is the team news, who is injured and suspended?

Arsene Wenger has picked a youthful squad and left a number of high-profile players behind, as he tries to navigate a tricky run of three matches in six days. 

Alexis Sanchez, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka have all been rested ahead of Sunday's match against to Brighton, while Alex Iwobi is out with a thigh problem.

Youngsters Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson could be handed starts, while Josh Dasilva and Eddie Nketiah are likely to be on the bench. 

Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck and Calum Chambers meanwhile are all injured. No Arsenal players are suspended. 

Provisional Arsenal squad: Ospina, Cech, Macey, Mertesacker, Holding, Mustafi, Monreal, Wilshere, Elneny, Maitland-Niles, Walcott, Giroud, Nelson, Willock, McGuane, Dasilva, Akpom, Gilmour, Debuchy.

Possible team: (3-4-3): Ospina; Holding, Mertesacker, Monreal; Nelson, Wilshere, Elneny, Maitland-Niles; Walcott, Giroud, Akpom

BATE have no injury concerns and are expected to line up as follows:

(4-2-3-1): Scherbitski; Rios, Gayduchik, Milunovic, Polyakov; Dragun, Volodko; Gordeychuk, Ivanic, Stasevich; Rodionov. 

What are they saying?

Wenger, discussing his youthful squad, said:

“You do not get 10 opportunities to play for Arsenal. When you get it, even if you only get 20 minutes, you have to convince people you have the qualities to do it, and you have the courage to play.

“There is always an uncertainty. You see in training that the player has the quality. He is here because he has the qualities. To show it during competition is something different. And in my experience, you only discover that during the competition.”

Per Mertesacker had some words of advice for Arsenal's young players

Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker added:

“We see a lot of young players, they have a good future here. But you also need to develop them in a lot of areas. It’s now about resisting those pressure situations, the lapses of concentration.”

What are the odds?

  • BATE Borisov to win: 6/1
  • Arsenal to win: 4/9
  • Draw: 18/5

What's our prediction?

Arsenal to eke out a 2-1 win. 

 

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