Arsenal will travel to Ukraine in order to take on Vorskla in the Europa League on Thursday.
And this match could really test the mettle of Unai Emery’s side.
No, were are not talking about the quality of the opposition but about the harsh conditions at Poltava right now.
According to reports, the pitch at Vorskla’s stadium is covered up due to heavy snowfall and the seats are all filled with ice. And to make matters worse the temperatures on Thursday are expected to plummet down to -13 degree Celcius.
Update: The venue of the match has been shifted from Poltava to Kiev on account of political tension.
Arsenal are sitting pretty on top of their group with 10 points meaning Unai Emery will not risk too many first team players.
But reports suggest that two first-team players – Laurent Koscielny and Alexandre Lacazette could be available for selection.
Arsenal’s doctors are currently assessing the duo(when the report was written) and there is a high possibility that the players could feature against Vorskla on Thursday.
Lacazette has been suffering from a groin strain and even if he is unfit for the Europa League clash then surely he will be available when the Gunners host Spurs in the London Derby at home on Sunday.
But this low key Europa League clash could be the perfect opportunity for Laurent Koscielny to make a comeback into the first team ever since his injury during the early parts of last season.
Koscielny is yet to feature in a match for Arsenal’s senior team and only played his first game for the club when he featured for 45 minutes during Arsenal’s U23 side’s defeat at the hands of Derby County earlier this week.
Unai Emery is also expected to rest a couple of his defenders and one of them could be Hector Bellerin. The Spaniard could be replaced by right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner n Thursday.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan who played a crucial role for the Gunners last weekend in the Premier League is also due to be rested for the game in Ukraine.
Read: Is this why Unai Emery is a better manager than former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger?
Read: Is the Vorskla vs Arsenal clash going to be rescheduled due to political tensions and bad conditions in Ukraine?
Read: Arsenal receive a huge injury boost right before they take on Spurs in the London Derby.
