I’ll leave you with Paul Doyle’s match report on a bad night for Arsenal. Bye!
Arsenal capitulated after Sokratis Papastathopoulos’s red card and need a big performance when they host the French side at the Emirates Stadium next week
Updated
Thu 7 Mar 2019 15.05 EST
First published on Thu 7 Mar 2019 11.55 EST
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Arsenal will back themselves to turn it around next week, but it’s worth remembering Alexandre Lacazette will still be suspended. They’ll need more from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Chelsea are about to take on Dynamo Kiev at Stamford Bridge. You can follow that match with Ben Fisher.
A famous win for Rennes, who were very good after getting over Alex Iwobi’s early goal, but a night to forget for Arsenal. They were cruising after Iwobi’s opener and missed chances to extend their lead, but they completely lost the run of themselves after Sokratis’s stupid red card. The Greek defender’s dismissal handed Rennes the initiative and the French side took full advantage, scoring three times to set up a 3-1 aggregate lead before they head to the Emirates for next Thursday’s second leg. Arsenal have it all to do and they can’t take anything for granted after this awful performance. Unai Emery is going to be a very unhappy man.
Full-time: Rennes 3-1 Arsenal
A huge roar greets the final whistle!
90 min+3: This all feels so unnecessary. Arsenal were in control of this game! And then Sokratis decided to be weird.
90 min: There will be four minutes of stoppage time. Rennes make a change, Gelin on for Grenier.
An Arsenal throw deep on the left. They give the ball away and Rennes storm up field, breaking down the left. Silicki, the substitute sends a wonderful cross towards the far post and the unmarked Sarr is there to power a header past Cech and give the hosts a two-goal lead!
GOAL! Rennes 3-1 Arsenal (Sarr, 88 min)
Sarr has the goal his performance deserves! This is a disaster for Arsenal!
86 min: Zeffane’s booked for chopping Guendouzi down. “So Arsenal didn’t make it to Big Cup this year but still manage to go out of Europe during the round of Arsenal,” Robin Hazlehurst says. “It is quite poetic really.”
83 min: There’s a sense Arsenal are trying to keep it at 2-1. This wouldn’t be the worst result for them to take back to the Emirates, even if losing to a mid-table French side isn’t a good look.
80 min: Xhaka is living dangerously, fouling Siliki on the left. He’s already on a booking. He needs to cool it.
79 min: Arsenal make their final change, Sead Kolasinac replacing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who hasn’t been great. Aubameyang is a picture of frustration as he takes his seat on the bench. Arsenal don’t have a recognised striker on the pitch now.
77 min: Sarr gets the ball out of his feet on the right and flashes in a low ball towards the near post. Hunou attacksit, but Cech gathers.
74 min: Arsenal probe on the left. Monreal twists and turns and sees his shot deflected wide. He appeals for a penalty for handball, but settles for a corner.
73 min: James Lea Siliki replaces Benjamin Bourigeaud, who scored that magnificent Rennes equaliser.
70 min: Arsenal’s second change sees Aaron Ramsey replace Mesut Ozil, who surely won’t be starting against Manchester United on Sunday. “Apart from anything else - and there’s plenty- it’s the staggering levels of stupidity of some of the Arsenal players that is the notable feature of all this,” Charles Antaki says. “That and ineptitude. But mostly stupidity.”
69 min: An awful clearance from Mustafi almost leads to a third goal for Rennes. Ben Arfa dips on to his left foot and aims for the left corner from 20 yards, but Cech flings himself across to tip wide! That’s a fantastic save.
68 min: Arsenal construct a rare attack. Xhaka threads a pass through to Ozil, who moves the ball on to his right foot, only to scoop a shot straight at Koubek!
67 min: Bensebaini drives into the Arsenal from the left, but he’s off balance as he shoots wide.
Rennes have the lead their dominance deserves! They won’t care there’s a huge element of fortune to this goal. They’ve been pressing so much and another attack sees Bensebaini slash a low shot off target from 20 yards. It’s a dismal effort, but Zeffane chases down a lost cause and collects possession near the right byline. His cross into the middle’s dangerous and it loops past Cech after taking a deflection off Monreal!
GOAL! Rennes 2-1 Arsenal (Monreal own goal, 65 min)
It’s been coming!
64 min: Ben Arfa scoots round poor old Mkhitaryan, a fish out of water at right-back, but the Rennes schemer’s low ball evades Hunou. Grenier has a pop. It almost reaches Hunou, but he can’t control it.
62 min: Ben Arfa whips the free-kick over the wall, forcing Cech to push the ball over the bar for a Rennes corner. The hosts are pushing, but Aubameyang heads away.
61 min: Ben Arfa ghosts past Xhaka, who brings him down just outside the D. He’s booked.
60 min: Sarr makes a nuisance of himself with another run. This time Koscienly steps across to challenge the winger, who goes down under minimal contact. No penalty.
Photograph: Loïc Venance/AFP/Getty Images
59 min: Bourigeaud cuts inside from the left and tries to bend one towards the far corner from 20 yards. Cech dives to his left to make an awkward save, but Rennes keep attacking. The ball comes to Sarr, who raps one goalwards, forcing Cech to parry wide. The corner comes to nothing.
56 min: Arsenal can’t handle Sarr’s raids on the right. He storms past Monreal again, tearing towards the byline, leaving Arsenal all at sea. Somehow his cutback stays out after hitting Koscielny in the six-yard box. Arsenal are begging to concede here. “I hope Petr Cech has a better night at the office than his fellow wizened keeper Gianluigi Buffon had yesterday,” Peter Oh says. “I haven’t cared for the clubs Cech has played for, but he is a classy keeper and he will be missed after he hangs up his gloves at the end of the season.”
53 min: Alex Iwobi, Arsenal’s goalscorer, makes way for Matteo Guendouzi. Iwobi looks a little baffled. He’s been Arsenal’s best attacking player.
52 min: Grenier’s free-kick is poor. Cech collects it easily.
51 min: Ben Arfa causes more problems, scooting inside from the right, and all Monreal can do is bring him down. Another Rennes free-kick. They’ll probably cross this one.
50 min: Sarr steams past Monreal and into the wide green spaces down the right. Arsenal are in trouble again. Sarr cuts the ball back and Bourigeaud runs on to it, only to shoot straight at Cech. Emery is going to bring on Guendouzi soon.
49 min: Bourigeaud cuts inside from the left and whips a cross into the middle. It bounces past the far post.
48 min: Zeffane breaks into space on the right, but his cross is overhit.
46 min: Arsenal get the second half underway. Unai Emery hasn’t made any changes, so Henrikh Mkhitaryan is still playing at right-back. That’s an area Rennes will need to exploit.
Sokratis made three fouls in a very short space of time and all of them could have been bookable offences. What was going through the Arsenal defender’s mind? He’s an experienced player and must have known he was walking a tightrope after the first yellow card. And still he made that challenge on Sarr.
Half-time: Rennes 1-1 Arsenal
A strange half draws to a close. Arsenal dominated for 30 minutes and should have added to Alex Iwobi’s early opener. Instead they lost their flow, had Sokratis Papastathopoulos sent off for two bookings and immediately conceded an equaliser. Rennes will fancy themselves now.
45 min+1: There will be three added minutes.
45 min: With Mkhitarayan playing as a makeshift right-back now that Mustafi has moved into the middle, Arsenal are rocking. Rennes attack down the left again, Bensebaini making it to the byline after beating Mkhitaryan, but Sarr sidefoots the left-back’s cross wide from close range! That was an excellent chance!
44 min: The 10 men of Arsenal threaten straight away, Ozil finding space on the left and picking out Aubameyang. The striker can’t turn and shoot, though, and the move ends with Mkhitaryan firing over from 20 yards.
The free-kick, given away by Sokratis, is to the left of the D. It’s around 20 yards yet. Bourigeaud spanks his first effort into the wall. Disappointing. Underwhelming. But the ball comes back to him - so he absolutely larrumps an astonishing effort towards the top-left corner with his right foot. There’s no way Cech’s saving that! The ball soars into the net and the Rennes fans erupt! What a goal!
GOAL! Rennes 1-1 Arsenal (Bourigeaud, 42 min)
What a goal! And what a disastrous few minutes for Arsenal!