EUROPA League
ARSENAL READY TO OFFLOAD NINE FA CUP HEROES
Arsenal could offload up to nine first team stars this summer, one of which is Alexandre Lacazette, as Mikel Arteta looks to raise funds.
According to UK publication, Mirror, the Spaniard has been hugely impressive since taking over at the Emirates in December and is set to lead a summer overhaul.
FA Cup success on Saturday has helped add £30m for the north Londoners as they secured a spot in the Europa League.
But Arteta knows he is working on a minimal budget and will have to sell players if he wants to secure his targets.
A host of players have long looked as if they were heading towards the exit door having failed to match expectations or fallen out of favour.
Sokratis, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sead Kolasinac could all be heading for pastures new, reports the Daily Mail. While Lacazette and Hector Bellerin could both be moved on if an appropriate offer is made despite being regulars in the Gunners first team.
The Frenchman was signed for a hefty fee in Arsene Wenger’s final year, but has been behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the pecking order.
Arsenal are desperate to keep hold of their star striker who scored both their goals at Wembley.
Arteta is keen to add Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey and a new central defender despite welcoming William Saliba to the Emirates.
A permanent deal for Dani Ceballos is also on the agenda with the midfielder set for talks with parent club Real Madrid.
And the former Manchester City No 2 said that their FA Cup success should assist with their summer business.
He said: “I have presented my vision and my plans and all together we will try our best to get the club in the best possible position.
“I know how important it was as we needed to be in Europe. It is a must for our club and financially because it is a bigger step forward in order to allow us to do more things in the future and have a better structure financially.
“I am very pleased for both things – winning the trophy and having the option to play in Europe.”
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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