Arsenal have gained significant ground under their new boss Unai Emery but the curse of Thursday night football is about to catch up with the Gunners.
At the end of the previous season, Arsene Wenger stepped down as the manager of the club which surely broke the heart of many a loyal Arsenal fans.
But the fact that the Gunners were unable to qualify for the Champions League was an even bigger problem for the London outfit.
Not only has the revenue of the club taken a significant hit but the Gunners are now playing football on Thursday night – a fixture that has not historically gone down too well with big clubs.
And this week, Arsenal travel to Ukraine in order to take on Vorskla and this match might just be a big cause of concern for Unai Emery.
Arsenal will play against the Ukranian side at the Oleksiy Butovskyi Vorskla Stadium and the climatic conditions in the city of Poltava are not very pleasant.
This was a tough battle that we absolutely wanted to win💪🏼❤️ @Arsenal #coyg pic.twitter.com/qfN5QNK7Sv
— Henrikh Mkhitaryan (@HenrikhMkh) November 25, 2018
Currently, Poltava has an average temperature of 0-degree Celcius but on the day that Arsenal will play Vorksla temperatures are expected to drop to a low of -13-degree Celcius.
Yes, -13-degree Celcius.
Such a low temperature will surely be a challenge for the London club and Unai Emery will have to make necessary precautions in order to protect his star players.
And one move that the manager is expected to make is to rest a number of his key players on Thursday in Poltava.
The Gunners are sitting on top of the group and qualifying for the next stage is just a formality now which means that some first-team regulars will be on the bench on Thursday – more so because three days later Arsenal are set to host Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Read: Arsenal’s summer signing lines out the team’s ambition during the 2018-19 season.
Read: Here’s why Unai Emery chose to take off Lucas Torreira against Bournemouth in the Premier League.
