Vitoria Guimaraes vs Arsenal 06/11/19

6 November 2019

Free-scoring Arsenal inflicted a third Group F loss on Vitoria Guimaraes in London, and another victory at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques would eliminate the Portuguese side from the UEFA Europa League (EL).

Having lost all three of their opening group matches, the hosts have no room for error as they sit rock bottom, six points adrift of second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. Before losing 3-2 to Arsenal in the reversed fixture, ‘Os Vimaranenses’ have suffered back-to-back defeats to Standard Liege and Frankfurt without scoring a goal. Also, four of six EL goals they’ve conceded so far have come in the second half, with the remaining two arriving in the final 15 minutes of the first period. Guimaraes’ poor run of form has seen them pick up just one triumph in their last six competitive outings (D2, L3), with four of those matches witnessing both teams score.

Meanwhile, comfortably clear at the top of the group, the visitors will look to maintain a 100% start to their EL campaign and seal a place in the knockout stage. Ruthless in the final third, the Gunners have already netted ten goals in Group F, scoring at least three in each of their three EL outings so far. Unai Emery’s men tend to finish their European matches with a bang, having bagged four goals beyond the 80th minute. But, except for a 3-0 thumping win against Frankfurt, the North Londoners have struggled to impress on the road recently. It was their only triumph in the last six competitive trips (D3, L2), with three of those away matches seeing them concede at least two goals.