Iwobi Rested, Akpom Benched As Arsenal Are Held By Red Star In Europa League

Arsenal were held to a drab goalless draw in their reverse fixture against Serbian makeweights, Red Star Belgrade at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday evening.

Arsene Wenger had chosen to heavily alter his squad for this one though, granting most of his fringe players playing time while leaving out the illustrious stars.

Alex Iwobi was completely excluded from the players for this clash while his compatriot, Chuba Akpom took a place among the substitutes and watched on for the entirety of the game as the London club posted a draw to go with their three wins so far in the competition.

It could have been a complete loss of points for the English side who were totally stretched by their adventurous Serbian opponents but for some sort of lethargic finishing, with Red Star's Richmond Boakye and Damien Le Tallec particularly culpable, the Ghanaian prancing through on goal on more than one occasion and shooting at the side netting after repeatedly getting the better of Mathieu Debuchy.

Arsenal's teenage striker, Edward Nketiah went the closest to finding an Arsenal goal after combining brilliantly with Maitland-Niles to force Borjan into a smart save, arguably one of the best chance Arsene Wenger's men could muster on the night.

The Gunners piled plenty of bodies goal wards in the dying moments of the game but it proved too little to as Red Star Belgrade earned a more than deserved point from the encounter.

Emmanuel Chinaza

Photo Credit : arsenal.com