Arsenal 6-0 BATE Borisov: 5 Talking Points

#4 Time for Arsenal to take the UEFA Europa League seriously

Arsenal will need to field their first team in the knockout games

The Gunners have comfortably made it into the next round of the UEFA Europa League without breaking any sweat. With 13 points in the bag, Arsenal's reserves did well to achieve a record points tally - the highest for any English side in their debut Europa League season.

But the knockout stages will be a different ball game altogether. With 8 teams (including the likes of Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid) joining the party from the UEFA Champions League, it is time for Arsenal to take this competition seriously and field their first team in the coming matches.

This should be done for three simple reasons. One, is that the race for the top four has never been tougher in the Premier League and the European competition offers another route for the Gunners to get into the Champions League.

Two, is that Arsene Wenger lacks a European trophy in his cabinet and this season can prove to be a lucky break for the Frenchman.

And three, is the obvious fact that Arsenal's second choice stars cannot take them over the line in the knockout games with teams such as Napoli and Atletico Madrid now entering the frame.