Arsenal striker the star man in Europa League best XI

Following their 2-0 win over Salzburg, Marseille are the dominant side in our Europa League team of the week. Six of the 11 players in the XI ply their trade for the French side, but it’s a familiar foe that is the star man in the team. Alexandre Lacazette scored four goals in nine league outings against Marseille during his time in France and he gained a higher WhoScored.com rating (8.79) than any other player in the Europa League this week. 

The Frenchman, who could’ve been plying his trade for Atletico Madrid had their transfer ban not been implemented, netted a key goal against the La Liga outfit, that from one of his eight shots, and made the second most key passes (5) of the first leg semi-final matches. Teammate Danny Welbeck partners Lacazette in attack with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.62. The England international completed five dribbles and made three key passes in the stalemate to make the cut. 

Mesut Ozil is the third of four Arsenal players to feature in this side on the back of an influential display against Atletico Madrid. The German returned a pass success rate of 90.6% against Diego Simeone’s side and made six key passes, one tackle and completed seven dribbles to help gain a WhoScored.com rating of 7.96. He’s joined in midfield by Dimitri Payet, who gained a WhoScored.com rating of 7.95 against Salzburg. He provided the two assists in the 2-0 win, those coming from four key passes, and made two accurate long balls as Marseille gained a first leg advantage. 

One of Payet’s two assists was for a Florian Thauvin goal, with the French winger earning a WhoScored.com rating of 8.57 against Salzburg. Thauvin’s goal was from one of three shots, while the wideman chipped in with an additional five successful dribbles on Thursday night. Lucas Ocampos rounds off the midfield, with the Marseille man making one key pass and three tackles during his 52 minutes on the Velodrome pitch. 

Bouna Sarr churned out a man of the match performance against Salzburg on Thursday night, with the Marseille man gaining a WhoScored.com rating of 8.68. He won two aerial duels, made two tackles, three interceptions and completed eight dribbles as the 26-year-old played a key role in keeping a clean sheet against the Austrian outfit. Nacho Monreal features on the opposite flank, with the Spaniard impressing in the 1-1 against Atletico Madrid. Having won two aerial duels, made three tackles, one interception, two key passes and two dribbles, the left-back was good value to gain a 7.73 WhoScored.com rating. 

Diego Godin is Atletico Madrid’s sole representative in the XI, despite Lacazette’s goal against Los Colchoneros at the Emirates. The Uruguayan centre-back made nine clearances, three tackles and one interception to finish the evening with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.33. Adil Rami partners Godin at the heart of the defence, with the Marseille man on hand to make six clearances, two tackles and three interceptions to return a WhoScored.com rating of 7.64. 

Marseille shotstopper Yohann Pele is the sixth Marseille player in the XI and rounds off the team of the week. The experienced goalkeeper made five saves against Salzburg, while an additional one successful cross claim earned Pele a WhoScored.com rating of 8.37 in a clean sheet attaining outing from the 35-year-old.