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When Alexandre Lacazette received a straight red card in the final stages of the embarrbading defeat against Arsenal in Belarus last week, it was immediately thought that he was frustrated that the clinical leader was forced to miss out on the crucial return match .
The red card, received for lashing Aleksandar Filipovic with his elbow, means the striker is banned from the Thursday night meeting at the Emirates when BATE Borisov will arrive to protect a slim 1-0 lead.
At first glance, being without your second leading scorer and arguably the player of the club season is not a good thing, admitted Unai Emery after the defeat to Borisov.
"I have not seen the action but we have to control the frustration," said Arsenal head coach at his post-game press conference. "It's bad news for this red card, we will not play with it next week, but it gives another player a chance."
But this last comment is interesting because the ban Lacazette raises interesting points before the return match in North London.
If it had been available, there is no doubt that Emery should have started with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Arsenal having to score at least two goals in regulation time.
But to do so, he may have had to accept the three-back system that has allowed Arsenal to become extremely conservative in recent months – the only real creative outlet coming from Sead Kolasinac on the left-back.
Emery could also go with the midfield rhombus we've seen sometimes, but again, Arsenal often has trouble creating – with Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka on the field.
So, what Lacazette's ban gives the Arsenal head coach, is the opportunity to start with his favorite 4-2-3-1 system, a system that served the Gunners well earlier in the campaign.
Torreira and Xhaka could play the defense midfield duo in front of the last four, while Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles still have permission to go back.
Then, at the forward positions, Emery could bring Aaron Ramsey 10th behind Aubameyang, with Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on either side.
Mesut Ozil is obviously another option for the role of No. 10, even though it is unlikely that the German starts, given the evolution of his situation under Emery in recent months. And there is also Denis Suarez.
Emery is therefore facing trial decisions Thursday night, knowing that in case of a problem, it would probably have been the worst result in the European history of Arsenal in his first campaign.
But the Spaniard is confident of avoiding such a scenario. "I'm sure it will be different," he said in the return match.
"Our great opportunity is at home. [Last week] This was not the result we wanted. We deserved more, but it will be different with our supporters. I'm counting on our work and our preparations to achieve a different result at Emirates Stadium. "
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