Standard Liege boss makes surprising comment on Arsenal’s youngsters

Standard Liege head coach Michel Preud’homme is wary of the talent that Arsenal’s young players possess as he prepares his side for their Europa League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.

The Gunners opened their Group F account with an impressive 3-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt, with Unai Emery naming a side which contained a host of young talent.

Eighteen-year-old forward Bukayo Saka caught the eye with a goal and two assists while the likes of Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe also shone.

Those youngsters are likely to once again be given a chance to impress as Emery rotates his side for Arsenal’s European involvement.

But Preud’homme does not expect an easier evening, even if key players are handed a watching brief by the hosts.

“Every player has their own qualities,” he said.

“But when you look at players that can replace the big names everyone knows, it is the same thing in terms of quality – they are a little younger but they will be tomorrow’s stars for Arsenal.

“There are young players who played in Frankfurt and against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, there is no difference between them and the more recognised players.

“Of course Arsenal are the big favourites in this game. If we manage to get a result it would be a surprise.”

One player in the Liege ranks who has some familiarity with Thursday’s surroundings is defender Konstantinos Laifis.

The 26-year-old defender spent three years in the youth ranks at Nottingham Forest earlier in his career and featured at the Emirates, with Laifis looking back fondly to his time in the East Midlands.

 

 

“It is very special, I played on this pitch in an Under-18 game when I was at Nottingham but tomorrow is different,” he said.

“The (stadium) will be full, I hope, we play against Arsenal and I am very excited about this.

“These three years when I was in England made so much difference to me, I became very professional, focused only on football and that helped me so much to be here now and play again on this pitch in the Europa League and against this big team.”