Arsenal experienced a double loss at France in the hands of Rennes, their player, Socratis was red carded and as though that was not enough, they succumbed into a 3-1 defeat creating for them a great mountain when they meet in a week or two.
Rennes star Hatem Ben Arfa couldn’t resist a dig at former manager Unai Emery after his side’s 3-1 win against Arsenal.
The French side take a two-goal lead to the Emirates next Thursday after they saw off 10-man Arsenal in north-west France. Emery managed Ben Arfa during his time at PSG and fell out with the hot-tempered Frenchman, consigning him to the club’s reserves for around 15 months.
Ben Arfa is now suing his former club for a loss of earnings and he took a dig at Emery after Rennes’ win, claiming the Spaniard ‘hasn’t changed’.
‘My motivation was to play a solid match, to win and get ourselves into a good position to go through,’ said Ben Arfa. ‘That’s what was in my head.
‘But I did see the same Emery, as agitated as ever. I looked over at him a few times and that made me laugh a little. He hasn’t changed.’
Rennes scored immediately after Sokratis’ red card and the French side capitalised on their man advantage. Nevertheless, Emery is confident that his side will progress to the last-8.
‘The result for the first 90 minutes is hard for us but we are going to start the next match next week with 11 vs 11 and with the same respect we have had the first half,’ said Emery.
‘We are going to do that at home. ‘I have confidence with our players, our supporters helping us’.
Arsenal have a chance to go ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend when the two sides square it out at the Emirates in a rush for the top four sit.