Arsenal fight back to claim Europa League last 32 spot

Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Standard Liege and make sure of a place in the Europa League last 32 as Group F winners on Thursday. Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka were on target in the space of three second-half minutes. The Gunners, runners-up to Chelsea last season, finished the group stage with 11 points and a relatively easier draw in the knockout rounds. They lived on their nerves as Eintracht Frankfurt were poised to knock them off top spot when the Germans led Guimaraes 2-1. However, the Portuguese side, already eliminated, scored twice in the last five minutes to claim a 3-2 win. Arsenal had beaten Liege 4-0 in the first meeting between the two sides and with a place in the knockout round already virtually certain, caretaker coach Freddie Ljungberg made nine changes to his starting line-up in Belgium. The home side took the lead just after half-time when a speculative Samuel Bastien shot took a huge deflection which left Gunners goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez wrong-footed. The goal meant Arsenal had failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches in all competitions, equalling their worst ever run under Arsene Wenger in 2004. It got worse after...