Arsenal Meet Lille First Time For Champions League As Giroud Return
Arsenal don face 10 different French teams for competitive action before, but di upcoming Champions League clash against Lille na di first-ever meeting. Lille get European pedigree since dem first taste top-tier continental action for 2001, and e dey strange say dem never lock horns with di four-time French champions.
Ahead of di game at Emirates Stadium, we don pull together guide to our opponents, including their history, current stars and their season so far. Lille Olympique Sporting Club was founded in 1944 after di merger of two clubs within di city, Olympique Lillois and SC Fives.
Success came quickly: dem clinch league and cup double in their second season, and within a decade win two titles and five French Cups, reaching di final on seven occasions. Dem see as di nation's best side post-World War II, but their decline just as rapid, as internal conflicts and financial issues bring relegation in 1956, two years after dem top di table.
Dem yo-yoed between di top two divisions for di next two decades, even falling to amateur status at one point, before becoming lower-half side in Ligue 1 for most of di remainder of di 20th century. Di turn of di millennium bring upturn in Les Dogues' fortunes, including a first-ever European qualification when dem reach di Champions League in 2001/02; then, 56 years after di club's last trophy, a side containing Eden Hazard, Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy clinch a domestic double.
Another Ligue 1 title arrive in 2021, while smart recruitment don see dem participate in di Champions League nine times. Lille don play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy since 2012, having spent 30 years at Stade Grimonprez-Jooris and a temporary eight-year spell at Stadium Lille Metropole before settling in their current home.
E get seating capacity of 50,186, making am di fourth-largest sports stadium in France, while e also get retractable roof and can convert into indoor arena. E don hold six matches at Euro 2016, five games at di 2023 Rugby World Cup, Six Nations rugby, Davis Cup tennis matches and di handball and basketball tournaments at di 2024 Olympics.
Having finished fifth di season before and losing big players such as Jonathan David, Lucas Chevalier, Bafode Diakite and Angel Gomes, Lille were tipped to struggle but instead improve to finish third in Ligue 1 - although Champions League qualification wasn't enough for manager Bruno Genesio to keep him job. Les Douges occupy position in top five for most of di campaign, battling with Marseille and Lyon for two Champions League spots.
Four defeats in a row immediately after di winter break were followed by 13-game unbeaten run to overhaul both and finish third behind Paris Saint-Germain and Lens. Their French Cup hopes end in di round of 32 against Lyon, while after an 18th-place finish in di league phase, dem reach di last 16 of di Europa League before eventual winners Aston Villa beat dem 3-0 on aggregate.
After Genesio's departure, Davide Ancelotti was installed as him successor. Di son of di legendary Italian boss Carlo, Davide spend time with AC Milan's academy but him only taste of professional football come on loan at fourth-tier Borgomanero in 2008/09.