Arsenal news: Stephan Lichtsteiner eager to take his chance and help club return to Champions League
Lichtsteiner has insisted there is no danger of Arsenal underestimating Vorskla Poltava, especially as the tournament offers the club an alternative route back into the Champions League
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Your support makes all the difference.Stephan Lichtsteiner has admitted that watching the Champions League at home on television this week has fuelled Arsenal’s desire to finish in the top four this season and return to the competition after a two-year absence.
The Champions League returned with a bang this week, with Liverpool’s thrilling 3-2 victory over French champions Paris Saint-Germain perhaps the pick of the action.
However Arsenal are spending their second successive season in the second-tier Europa League, beginning their continental campaign with a home match against the little known Ukrainian outfit Vorskla Poltava.
It would be easy for Arsenal to switch off during the tie, particularly ahead of a potentially tricky home match against Everton on Sunday. However Lichtsteiner has insisted there is no danger of Arsenal underestimating their opponents, especially as the tournament offers the club an alternative route back into the Champions League.
“To come back to the glamour games, you need to win the other games first,” Lichtsteiner said. “Now we’re in the situation where we need to win the Europa League, so we’re going to try to win the Europa League. Then, next year I hope, we can talk about the Champions League.
“I am hungry to get back to the Champions League. But it is a long way and we have two chances - the Europa League and the Premier League. We want to try as I am sure we want to play Champions League next year.”
Lichtsteiner was Arsenal’s first signing of the summer, arriving on a free transfer from the Italian champions Juventus.
The 34-year-old wing-back was a first-team regular at the Allianz Stadium and also captained Switzerland in all four of the country’s 2018 World Cup games, but has yet to start a game for Arsenal this season.
And Lichtsteiner has admitted for the first time that he is not overly accustomed with sitting on the substitute’s bench.
“I’m not frustrated but of course I’m not used to being on the bench more than three times in a row,” he added.
“It’s also a new situation for me and I’m curious how I’ll manage it. I’m here to work, to get better personally, to get better with the team and I think we are in a very good way. I’m trying to start more and for that I have to work, that’s the only thing I can do in this moment to show the coach that I’m ready to play. We are in a good way, I’m in a very good way and ready to play.”
Lichtsteiner will likely be handed his chance to impress against Vorskla on Thursday evening, with manager Unai Emery pledging to shuffle his pack.
Fellow summer arrivals Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno are also in line for their first starts, while teenager Emile Smith Rowe is expected to make his full senior debut. Highly rated academy product Dominic Thompson could also play some part, having trained with the senior squad on Wednesday.
“We are going to change things to give players the opportunity to find minutes, to find confidence on the pitch and then maybe [Thursday's] players can play on Sunday too,” Emery said.
“For me, every match, each moment, is about finding the best performance with the players. We have four competitions this season. First the Europa League, Sunday is Premier League, then it’s Carabao Cup and then we’re going to play in FA Cup.
“I want the same thing for every player because each match is important.”
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