Emery encourages Gunners to keep on combining style with substance
UNAI Emery wants to see his Arsenal side continue to be entertainers as they look to move a step closer to the Europa League knockout stages with victory at Sporting Lisbon.
The Gunners head to the Portuguese capital on a 10-match winning streak and have scored at least three goals in five of their last seven outings.
Only Manchester City have scored more Premier League goals than Emery’s men, who wrapped up a 3-1 win over Leicester on Monday with a superb team goal finished by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
“We want the balance — the balance to score a lot and also not to concede a lot of goals,” said Emery.
“But for me the individual goalscoring statistics for the players is very important, as it is for the supporters to be excited with many things on the pitch. Scoring goals is important for this spectacle.
“With this balance we want to score a lot and with different players. I want our strikers to have a lot of chances to score but also to find the balance defensively.”
Both sides have won their opening two matches in Group E so any winner at the Estadio Jose Alvalade will be in prime position to progress when the pair meet again next month.
For that reason, Emery has brought a strong squad with him, despite the fact kick-off in Lisbon comes less than three days since the victory over Leicester.
“For us first this competition is very, very important and the opposition is a very good team with a very good experience in this competition and with good players,” Emery added.
“In this moment we are two teams both in the first position and our mind is to arrive first in this group and to continue in our way thinking how we can improve.
“It is a very, very big match — it is important for our confidence. We want to win against Sporting.”