I have to say from the outset, I probably won’t be doing this for every Europa League match. Doing this twice a week seems like a lot, and as Arsenal go further into the group stage, if things go as they did last season, there will probably be a lot of kids who will get to see action that I have no idea who they are, particularly days in advance, so it’s a bit of a crapshoot. I did it for this game, though, because I’m genuinely interested in what you think as far as how Unai Emery should play these games - stick with the regulars? Play the kids? Try something totally different? And I got some really good answers from the awesome TSF people who filled out the survey. First of all, looks like the 4-2-3-1 is still the preferred formation, although there was a good chunk of you (28% of respondents) who think a 4-3-3 might be a better idea. Bernd Leno continues to be Mr. Popular, with an unsurprising-yet-whopping 98.4% of you thinking he should get the start Thursday. There were a couple other surprises, too: (if you can’t see the image above, click here) Yep, that’s right - that’s a lineup with three defensive midfielders, if you count Mohamed Elneny as one. He’s kind of a super-utility guy, though, so maybe he’s more attack minded in this formation. Rob Holding gets a start, as well, which just goes to show that this is in fact the Europa League. You’d also give Alex Iwobi a chance to shine up top, which would be fun to see. We shall see what Emery does, and how many unknown kids he has on the bench that we might see next time.<doc-sep>Arsenal are giving us a double dose of action for weeks to come, starting with the Europa League opener against FC Vorskla. Here’s how they should line up. Arsenal are starting to find their footing. After two initial losses (although one should have been a draw), the Gunners have won their last three, two of which have been away from home, which was their biggest sore spot all of last year. And now, things start to get more complicated for Unai Emery, who is going to need to draw a line between Premier League players and Europa League/League Cup/FA Cup players, with transitions possible and, hopefully, likely. It all starts against Ukranian side FC Vorskla at the Emirates, where what is expected to be a massive squad rotation will result in what is equally expected to be a massive, conclusive victory. But nothing is guaranteed, and it will take awhile for Unai Emery to convince the fans otherwise. However, when you start looking at the squad that the Gunners figure to put out there, it’s an inspiring sight. So let’s get to it. Here is the projected starting XI for the clash. We start in goal, where I’ll try to keep my excitement contained. Keeper I literally, literally cannot wait to see Bernd Leno in the net for the Gunners. If you haven’t been following Pain in the Arsenal’s coverage of him (well, mine in particular), the let me fill you in. After every week, I was adamant that Leno start. Even at the start of the season, I thought it should have been him. I’ve tuckered out recently, but the point is, he is finally going to start! And with it, we are finally going to be able to see what he is capable of. And, as mentioned in a previous article, it stands to reason that he won’t see that much action, but he will have things to do, and if he can do them without a shadow of a doubt, I will have no choice but to take up the charge to get him to start. In the meantime, and before I get too carried away anointing him the second coming of Jens Lehmann, let’s move on to the fullbacks.<doc-sep>Arsenal hosted FC Vorskla on Thursday night in their opening Europa League group-stage match. Here are the player ratings from the 4-2 victory. It was a comfortable win in the end for Arsenal. Although FC Vorskla were disciplined and industrious in their deep defending for much of the first half, once the home side was able to break them down and engineer that first opening, the floodgates opened somewhat. There wasn’t much of a threat at the other end either, with the result rarely in doubt. Here are the Gunners’ player ratings from Thursday night’s 4-2 win. Goalkeeper<doc-sep>Unai Emery's side open their Europa League campaign against the Ukrainian minnows, who have only ever played in the group stages once before Arsenal kick off their Europa League campaign with a game against Ukrainian minnows Vorskla Poltava, and will be confident of collecting all three points. The Gunners, of course, will have watched on enviously as Liverpool beat PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday, though they may have taken a great deal of mirth from Tottenham's defeat at Inter. Nevertheless, winning the competition offers a route back to Europe's top table, and Unai Emery's men are in fine form heading into their meeting with Vorskla, who are currently fifth in the Ukrainian Premier League. Game Arsenal vs Vorskla Date Thursday, September 20 Time 8pm BST / 3pm ET TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch In the United States (US) the game will be available to watch live on television via TNT and it can be streamed live online using B/R Live. US TV channel Online stream TNT B/R Live The game can be watched live on television in the United Kingdom (UK) via BT Sport 2 and it can be streamed live online using the BT Sport app. UK TV channel Online stream BT Sport 2 BT Sport app Squads & Team News Position Arsenal squad Goalkeepers Cech, Leno, Martinez, Iliev Defenders Bellerin, Sokratis, Koscielny, Mustafi, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Monreal, Jenkinson, Mavropanos, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles, Thompson Midfielders Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Ozil, Torreira, Iwobi, Guendouzi, Xhaka Forwards Lacazette, Aubameyang, Welbeck Aaron Ramsey is out for the game, and may be rested ahead of Arsenal's clash with Everton this weekend. Sead Kolasinac and Laurent Koscielny will also miss out, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles remains on the sidelines with a fibula fracture. Nacho Monreal is the only senior left-back who is fit, with youngster Dominic Thompson training with the senior squad ahead of the encounter. Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette are on the bench, while Bernd Leno makes his debut and Lucas Torreira starts in midfield. Confirmed Arsenal XI: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Torreira, Mkhitaryan, Elneny, Iwobi, Welbeck, Aubameyang. Bench: Martinez, Bellerin, Lacazette, Ozil, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Smith Rowe Position Vorskla squad Goalkeepers Shust, Tkachenko, Riznyk Defenders Giorgadze, Perduta, Yakubu, Sapay, Martynenko, Chyzhov, Sakiv, Dallku, Kane, Artur Midfielders Sklyar, Havelock, Sharpar, Mysyk, Chesnakov, Kravchenko, Kobakhidze, Rebenok Forwards Kadymyan, Serhiychuk, Kulach, Careca, Odaryuk, Shapoval, Kolomyets, Lyha, Vasin Vorskla have endured a mixed season thus far, and opened their season with a 4-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk, but they have won their last two outings, and come into their clash with Arsenal in good form. A 1-0 win over Karpaty last time out came by virtue of a 91st minute Ardin Dallku goal, the defender proving that Vorskla have a number of threats that the Gunners must be aware of. Confirmed Vorskla XI: Shust, Perduta, Dallku, Chesnakov, Artur, Kobakhidze, Kravchenko, Sharpar, Kulach, Kolomoets. Bench: Tkachenko, Giorgadze, Skylar, Serhiichuk, Mysyk, Nicolas Careca, Sakiv Betting & Match Odds Arsenal are overwhelming favourites with Bet365, and are priced at a mere 1/8 to win. The draw is 9/1, while Vorskla are priced at 25/1 to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Europa League history. Click here to see more offers for the Europa League games, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more. Match Preview Arsenal finally appear to have discovered how to play under Unai Emery. After losing to both Manchester City and Chelsea, the Gunners have won three matches in a row, defeating West Ham, Cardiff and Newcastle, and lie seventh in the Premier League. However, they are yet to record a single clean sheet, with Emery so far refusing to hand a debut to summer signing Bernd Leno, who many expected to become the club's first-choice goalkeeper when he joined from Bayer Leverkusen. Article continues below This encounter with Vorskla thus offers the perfect opportunity to blood the 26-year-old German, and also to start defending properly. The Ukrainian side finished third in the Premier League last season, and have only once before played in the group stages of the competition, in 2011-12. There they faced Hannover 96, Standard Liege and Copenhagen, and collected two points, finishing fourth. They may struggle to beat a side managed by Emery, however, the manager having won three Europa League titles during his time at Sevilla.<doc-sep>
Having reached the semi-final stage last season, Arsenal will open their Europa League campaign on Thursday night looking to go one better this time around. And in Unai Emery they have a coach who knows exactly what it takes to win the competition, having lifted the trophy for three successive years while in charge of Sevilla. The Spaniard has already hinted he will make several changes for Thursday night's game against Ukrainian side FC Vorskla, but he insists the competition is one he will take very seriously once again. “The Europa League can help a lot,” said the Spaniard. “After the Champions League, the Europa League is the most important competition. If teams cannot play in the Champions League, it is very important. “The first year I won in the Europa League, [you] didn’t play in the Champions League [if you won it]. “When we opened this possibility that when you win the Europa League you play in the Champions League, I think it was the key to improve the interest in the competition.” (Image: Martin Rose/Getty Images) So far this season, Emery has not made too many changes to his team in the Premier League, but he is expected to freshen things up on Thursday night. One player who certainly looks set to start is Bernd Leno, with the £22 million summer signing finally expected to make his Arsenal debut in goal. He could be one of four players handed their full debut by Emery, with Stephan Lichtsteiner set to replace Hector Bellerin at right-back, while Lucas Torreira is in line for a start in central midfield. Teenager Emile Smith Rowe could also make his full senior debut. Other players who could get their first starts of the season include Rob Holding, Mohamed Elneny and Danny Welbeck. A look at the team Freddie Ljungberg selected for the Under-23s game against Blackburn on Tuesday night also gives some big clues as to who will be involved for the first-team on Thursday night. Smith Rowe, who made such an impression during pre-season, didn’t feature at Ewood Park, while striker Eddie Nketiah and defender Julio Pleguezuelo were also left out by Ljungberg. All three are set to be involved in Emery’s squad on Thursday night, with U23s skipper Pleguezuelo in line for his senior debut, should he come get him some minutes. Dominic Thompson may feature as left-back cover after training with the senior squad on Wednesday. Arsenal predicted XI vs FC Vorskla: Leno, Lichsteiner, Holding, Mustafi, Monreal, Torreira, Elneny, Smith Rowe, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Welbeck. Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android. Available to download from the App Store and Google Play.