A beaming Koscielny tells BT of his joy at returning after seven months out through injury: “It was very important for me. Now I start a new chapter in my career ... For a football player to miss the pitch is very difficult but not it’s the end of that and now I can smile and enjoy myself.”

Arsenal have fulfilled their last group fixture. It was a mostly dreary spectacle but did feature a nice poacher’s goal from Lacazette and encouraging displays from some youngsters, especially Saka and Maitland-Niles. They will remember this match but few other people will.

90+3 min: Elneny saunters over to take a corner. It’s cleared at the near post. Pfft!

90 min: There will be at least four more minutes.

89 min: arsenal launch a swift counter-attack and Maitland-Niles provides Saka with a wonderful chance to crown an impressive display with a goal. But the keeper saves the youngster’s eight-yard shot with his face!

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88 min: Guerrier tries to control a crossfield pass with his chest ... but allows the ball to run through his legs and out for a throw-in instead. The crowd clutch of people in the stands go wild.

86 min: Can a game be said to be petering out if it never got into ay kind of flow in the first place?

Qarabag substitution: Ozobic on, Rzezniczak off.

Arsenal substitution: Gilmour on, Ozil off. Can’t say Ozil did enough today to force his way back into Arsenal’s starting lineup.

80 min: Medvedev has been Qarabag’s best player so far but he’s just kneed Saka in the back with, let’s say, a reckless jump for a ball he was never likely to win. The youngster sure felt it. But he’s back on his feet after 30 seconds or so. He immediately gets the ball and darts past Medvedev for some sweet revenge before being clattered by Garay, who gets a deserved yellow card.

76 min: Gah! A lovely Arsenal goal is ruled out for offside! It’s the correct decision by a matter of centimetres, which is a shame because Nketiah started an finished an otherwise excellent move also involving Ozil and Saka.

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Qarabag substitution: Quintana on, Madatov off.

Arsenal substitution: Monreal on, Koscielny off. That was as gentle a workout as the French defender could have wished for on his return after seven months injured. He trots off to warm applause with a big smile on his face.

69 min: Saka receivs the ball midway inside the Qarabag half and central. He shuffles to make space for a shot from his left foot and then unloads. It’s a decent effort from 25 yards but Vagner saves comfortably.

68 min: Maitland-Niles wins a corner on the right. Arsenal take it short, eventually working it back to half-way, from where Elneny tries another diagonal ball back to the corner. A useless vignette of football, all told.

65 min: Maitland-Niles revels in his new role, jinking down the right and then firing a low cross into the danger area. Saka tries to flip it first time into the net from seven yards but snatches at it, sending it wide instead.

Arsenal substitution: Medley on, Lacazette off. The teenager goes in at left-back, as Maitland-Niles advances into midfield.

63 min: Zoubir lashes down the left wing and bypasses Sokratis easily before pulling back an inviting low pass to the substitute. But Abdullayev hasn’t got up to speed quickly enough and misses his kick from 12 yards out. That was the best chance Qarabag are likely to get and they’ve fluffed it.

Qarabag substitution: Abdullayev on, Michel off.

61 min: Elneny goes for another long diagonal ball, this time towards Lacazette. But it’s getting predictable now and two defenders were practically waiting for it to land.

58 min: A loose back-header by Jenkinson results in a corner for Qarabag. Martinez rushes off his line to intercept the delivery but gets nowhere near it. Guerrier wins the header but fails to keep it down.

55 min: freekick to Arsenal after Nketiah is pulled down just outside the box, on the right-hand side. The angle is surely too acute for a shot. Ozil flights it into the danger zone. Sokratis leaps well to win it but heads way wide.

54 min: Elneny sprays the ball wide to Nketiah, who tries to jink his way into the area but is thwarted by Garay.

52 min: Saka races on to a pass from Lacazette and clips a useful cross from the byline into the six-yard box. But it’s headed clear at the near post.

50 min: Jenkinson’s low cross from the right is cut out but he pounces on the rebound and then takes it further into the box and tries a shot. But that’s blocked too.

49 min: Today’s attendance is apparently just over 21,000, ie about a third of the stadium’s capacity.

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48 min: Arsenal continue to boss play. But they lack incisiveness up front.

46 min: Off we go again. No changes during the break. But let’s hope the second half is more interesting than the first.

Lacazette’s well-constructed and well-taken goal is the only highlight of a dreary first half. Actually, that’s not quite true: there have been a couple of nice flourishes from young Saka and Willock, too.

43 min: BT’s commentators have spent the last minute discussing their favourite Christmas songs. Stuart Robson is partial to a bit of Dean Martin, apparently. No mention of Twisted Sister, surprisingly.

40 min: Maitland-Niles clips a nice pass into the left-hand channel for Saka to chase. He reaches it but can’t get the bouncing ball under proper control and it runs out of play.

38 min: Maitland-Niles is well positioned to cut out a diagonal pass by Medvedev, curtailing a rare Qarabag counter-attack.

35 min: Willock darts towards the box, then nips the ball in to Lacazette, who holds it up before edging it sideways to Nketiah, whose cross is put behind for a corner. Nketiah gets on the end of Ozil’s delivery but sends a header looping over from eight yards.

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32 min: This is the most high-profile game of walking football ever.

29 min: The cameraman focuses on Martinez in the Arsenal goal, presumably just to check that he hasn’t fallen asleep. I can confirm he’s wide awake. Too cold to nap, no doubt.

26 min: Isn’t it funny how time can drift by without you even realising it? One minute you’re thinking about what to say about a non-event, then three minutes have passed and you still haven’t thought of anything.

23 min: Lacazette continues to look dangerous. There’s a wonderful directness to his play, the way he nimbly manoeuvres to get the ball going forward - ideally, goalward - as rapidly as possible.

21 min: Arsenal are in full control now. Qarabag are very limited and being penned into their own half quite easily. Elneny is so emboldened by their passivity that he tries to smash the ball into the net from 40 yards. You can guess how that ended.

18 min: A slack moment in Arsenal’s defence as Maitland-Niles misjudged a lofted pass and allows it to reach Medvedev. Sokratis bails out his teammates with a terrific sliding tackle in the box.

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That’s more like it! Nketiah does well to win the ball for Arsenal just outside the visitors’ box. Then he feeds Ozil, who nudges the ball through to Lacazette, who quickly takes it under control and gets off a fierce low shot that beats the keeper from 10 yards.

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11 min: No real pattern emerging here yet, other than the lack of intensity. Arsenal are not smooth, which is understandable given all the changes in the side. And Qarabag aren’t very good.

9 min: Saka runs in from the right flank and then lets fly with a fine curling left-footed shot from the corner of the box. The keeper dives to push it away with both hands. That’s the first glimpse of the skills that have so many Arsenal fans are predicting big things for this teenager.

7 min: This has a definite mid-season friendly vibe about it so far.

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5 min: Willock makes a decent burst from midfield but is upended by Michel, giving Arenal a freekick midway inside opposing territory.

3 min: The visitors make a reasonable start, popping the ball about gamely. Arsenal are content to let them have their fun for now, so long as they don’t get anywhere near the home box.

1 min: Arsenal v Qarabag is go! The fans in the sparsely populated Emirates are doing a good job of containing their excitement early doors.

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The protagonists have arrived, ambling out on to the pitch on a bitterly cold London night. Arsenal are wearing their customary red and white outfit, with many players choosing to accessorise that with black gloves. The visitors are all in black.

“You left out Guendouzi in the list of teenagers on the bench,” protests Krishna Moorthi. “Not to mention Nketiah and Willock, who are starting.” Yes, I did, and that’s because those are better known than the ones I highlighted. Guendouzi, indeed, is already so famous that Manchester United players have chased after him just to grab a lock of his hair.

Plenty of youngsters in that Arsenal lineup, especially on the bench. The one we’re told to be most excited about is Bukayo Saka. Word is he’s a 17-year-old from Ealing with exceptional skill and speed, a darling of a left foot and a big bright future. The teenagers on the bench include another 17-year-old, Tyrece John-Jules, plus 18-year-old centreback Zech Medley and the 19-year-old midfielder Charlie Gilmour.

Arsenal: Martinez; Jenkinson, Sokratis, Koscielny, Maitland-Niles; Elneny, Willock, Saka; Ozil, Lacazette, Nketiah

Subs: Illiev, Monreal, Guendouzi, Mkhitaryan, Gilmour, Medley, John-Jules

Qarabag: Vagner; Medvedev, Rzezniczak, Sadygov, Huseynov, Guerrier; Slavchev, Garayev, Michel; Madatov, Zoubir

Subs: Magomedaliyev, Mammadov, Abdullayev, Quintana, Ozobic, Agoli, Diniyev

Referee: J Maae (Den)

Hello. Here’s how things lie: Arsenal have already won Group E and Qarabag already know this is their last match in this season’s Europa League no matter what happens today. The best the visitors can aspire to is a result that restores some self-respect after their last match ended in their heaviest ever home defeat in Europe, a 6-1 clobbering by Sporting Lisbon. So this match doesn’t carry much intrigue in terms of the competition. On the other hand, the performances of certain individuals will be worth watching: Laurent Koscileny, for instance, is set to make his return after seven months out injured; 17-year-old prodigy Bukayo Saka – a thrilling forward prospect by all accounts – will make his first start; and Mesut Ozil will slot back into the starting lineup and hopefully show enough ingenuity and dynamism to convince Unai Emery to give him another chance in a proper match.