There will be four minutes of stoppage time. As that is announced, Rennes make a change, with Grenier making way for Gelin.
88'
I. Sarr has scored a goal for Rennes! Assist by J. Léa Siliki.
RENNES MAKE IT 3-1! What a goal from the hosts! A swift counter results in Siliki whipping in a sublime first-time cross from the left, and his opposite winger Sarr is there to meet it with a bullet header that soars past Cech and into the back of the net.
Arsenal were trying to push up and squeeze their hosts back, but instead left plenty of space for Bensebaini to exploit. He picked out Siliki, who did the rest with an exquisite cross into Sarr.
87'
M. Zeffane gets yellow.
Good work from Guendouzi, who robs Ben Arfa of possession before driving forward, drawing a hefty challenge from Zeffane, and the Rennes defender picks up a booking for his troubles.
85'
The Rennes faithful have been in fantastic voice so far, and their team are on the verge of a famous victory. Five minutes, plus stoppage time, remain.
83'
A rare Arsenal venture forward comes to nothing, as Monreal’s corner is easily cleared. Sarr looks to lead a counter, but Mkhitaryan gets back to make a good recovery challenge.
81'
It does not look like Arsenal have changed shape, with Kolasinac instead joining Ramsey in an auxiliary strike partnership.
79'
S. Kolašinac enters the game and replaces P. Aubameyang.
A third and final change for Arsenal, and if Emery wasn’t hanging on before, he certainly is looking to now. Aubemeyang has toiled up top today with little service, but he has now been taken off, with Kolasinac coming on.
77'
Sarr finds space down the right, and does not hesitate in curling in an early cross. Hunou made a good run to the near post, but was just caught a yard short of the ball, and Cech is able to gather it in.
75'
A long pass from deep is punted towards Sarr, who despite clicking up through the gears, can’t quite keep the ball in play. It took the youngster some time to work his way into this fixture, but since then he has been a constant threat.
Minute
Description
73'
J. Léa Siliki enters the game and replaces B. Bourigeaud.
A first change for Rennes, as Bourigeaud’s impressive showing is brought to an end. He is replaced by Siliki.
72'
Rennes have had eight days to prepare for this clash, while this is Arsenal’s fifth game in 15 days. At the moment, the fatigue is showing, especially with 10 men, and Emery would likely take this result if it was offered to him at full-time.
70'
A. Ramsey enters the game and replaces M. Özil.
That tame effort has proved to be Ozil’s final involvement. He has made way for Ramsey.
68'
Finally, Arsenal manage to forge a decent move. Guendouzi is the instigator, as he drifts wide before slipping a clever pass into Ozil, but the playmaker snatches at his shot, making it easy for Koubek.
67'
While it was always going to be difficult with 10 men, Arsenal have never come close to regaining any control since Sokratis’ dismissal. Indeed, Emery’s decision to introduce Guendouzi in place of Iwobi – who was acting as a good outball up front – has not helped, with the Gunners too often camped in their own half.
65'
Nacho Monreal is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
OWN GOAL! RENNES LEAD 2-1! Well, it has been coming, and now the hosts have taken the advantage. A powerful cross was hit in from the right, and Monreal was only able to divert it past Cech at the near post.
64'
Arsenal are unable to cope with Ben Arfa at the moment, and the Rennes forward causes havoc with another weaving run. His cutback is rebounded out to Grenier, whose wayward strike almost falls for Hunou, but the striker can’t take the ball under his spell.
62'
Clever play from Ben Arfa, who gets the better of Xhaka with a neat turn of pace and some quick footwork, drawing a foul from Arsenal’s midfielder.
61'
G. Xhaka gets yellow.
No penalty! Sarr goes up against Koscielny in the area, eventually going down under pressure from Arsenal’s captain. The referee, though, dismisses Rennes’ appeals for a spot kick.
60'
More fine work from Cech, who after stooping low to his left to keep out Bourigeaud’s effort, reacts quickly to keep out Sarr’s strike on the rebound.
58'
With Guendouzi’s introduction, Arsenal have switched to a three-man midfield, and Ozil has pushed up to play off Aubameyang. Mkhitaryan has remained at right-back, and is sticking to his task well, though Rennes are sure to target the winger whenever they can.
56'
Brilliant play from Sarr, who puts on the afterburners to get the better of Monreal before driving in a cross which somehow evades both Hunou, Ben Arfa and Bourigeaud.
53'
M. Guendouzi enters the game and replaces A. Iwobi.
Here is a change from Emery, and it is a defensive one. Iwobi has offered Arsenal’s greatest attacking threat so far, but he has now made way for Guendouzi.
49'
In similar fashion to Iwobi, Bourigeaud looks to pick out the bottom-right corner with a low curling strike, but just generates too much swerve on his effort, and Cech is able to watch it wide.
48'
It looks as though Mkhitaryan has switched to right-back, with Mustafi moving central to partner Koscielny. The first opening for Rennes, however, comes down the opposite flank, with Zeffane blazing over from a tight angle.
46'
We are back underway for the second half. There have been no changes from either side.
45' +3
HALF-TIME: RENNES 1-1 ARSENAL.
44'
Arsenal look for a quick response, with Ozil driving into the area before reversing it back to Aubameyang. He tries to get a shot off, but his effort is blocked, and Rennes are quickly back on the attack.
42'
B. Bourigeaud has scored a goal for Rennes!
RENNES ARE LEVEL! Arsenal’s misery is swiftly compounded, as after seeing his initial effort from the free-kick saved, Bourigeaud reacts sharply to thump in a venomous strike on the half volley.
41'
S. Papastathopoulos gets a second yellow card and is sent off.
RED CARD! Sokratis has been sent off! Just moments after fouling Ben Arfa, Sokratis fails to keep up with Sarr, and can only pull back the Rennes winger, giving the referee little choice but to give the defender his marching orders.
40'
Sarr has been on the fringes of this game so far, but the winger found himself in a great position then at the end of a flowing Rennes move. Monreal, however, is on hand to make a vital intervention.
38'
B. Bourigeaud gets yellow.
Bourigeaud has picked up the second booking of the game, having lunged in late on Torreira.
34'
S. Papastathopoulos gets yellow.
Sokratis picks up the first booking of the game, having scythed down Ben Arfa on the edge of the area.
33'
Clever play in midfield from Mkhitaryan and Ozil, who work well together in order to play Aubameyang in, but the striker is just caught offside.
26'
Mkhitaryan is furious, and understandably so. He was in acres of space down Arsenal’s right, but instead of playing what would have been a simple, yet incisive, pass out to the flank, Xhaka chose the easy option of Mustafi, who powered forward before conceding possession back to Rennes.
24'
Ozil drops deep to get on the ball, turning away from his marker before threading a superb pass in behind Rennes’ line, with Iwobi chasing it. He looks to drive in a cross, but Koubek gets there ahead of Aubameyang.
20'
After that glut of Rennes pressure, Arsenal have just managed to get a foot on the ball in recent minutes, taking some of the sting out of their hosts’ play. The Gunners work it patiently down the right, Ozil and Mkhitaryan combining to play Mustafi in, but his cross is blocked, deflecting out off him for a Rennes goal kick.
9'
Rennes look to keep on the pressure, but Arsenal’s defence cope well, with Torreira then playing a long ball over the top for Aubameyang to chase down, relieving some of the strain that had been applied to the visitors’ line.
7'
Emery will be delighted with this start, and Rennes must now settle back into some rhythm. Ben Arfa looks to take matters into his own hands with a driving run, and although his following pass is intercepted, Grenier picks up the scraps. He looks to pick out Bensebaini, but the full-back cannot keep the ball in play.
3'
A. Iwobi has scored a goal for Arsenal! Assist by Nacho Monreal.
GOAL! ARSENAL LEAD 1-0! Well, Rennes had started well, but are now behind. Iwobi picked up the ball down the left, cutting in before curling a cross-shot towards the far corner, with the ball evading a crowd of players before clipping in off the upright.
Monreal will get the assist for that, having played a neat pass into Iwobi down the right. But it was nothing more than a speculative effort by the winger. What a start for Emery's side!
2'
A positive start by Rennes, as Grenier gets on the ball in midfield and switches the play out to the left. Bourigeaud looks to take on his marker and whip in a cross, with several team-mates waiting in the area, but Mustafi does well to cut out the danger.
1'
We are up and running! Rennes have got proceedings underway.
Hello and welcome to LIVE coverage of the first leg of Arsenal’s Europa League round of 16 clash with Rennes.
Ligue 1 side Rennes – currently 10th in France’s top tier – beat Real Betis by a 6-4 aggregate scoreline in the round of 32, and prepared for today’s clash with a 2-0 Coup de France quarter-final win over Orleans last time out.
Arsenal, meanwhile, were denied a north London derby victory on Saturday, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing a late penalty. Unai Emery’s side were impressive at Wembley, and having eased past BATE Borisov to make it to this stage, will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games and take at least a draw back to Emirates Stadium.
RENNES (4-4-2): Tomas Koubek; Mehdi Zeffane, Damien Da Silva, Mexer, Ramy Bensebaini; Ismaila Sarr, Clement Grenier, Benjamin Andre, Benjamin Bourigeaud; Hatem Ben Arfa, Adrien Hunou.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech; Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Sokratis, Nacho Monreal; Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Oil, Alex Iwobi; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
RENNES SUBS: Loic Badiashile, Jeremy Gelin, James Lea Siliki, Jakob Johansson, Armand Lauriente, Romain Del Castillo, Souleyman Doumbia.
We are almost ready to go at Roazhon Park, where the atmosphere is electric. The teams are out on the pitch, and kick-off is fast approaching!
Emery must now rally his players for what is sure to be a difficult second half, and it seems likely he may have to sacrifice an attacking player in order to bring on a defender, with Monreal and Mustafi having had to move central in the closing stages of the first half.
Well, that’s all for now. Until next time, thank you and goodbye!
Arsenal now have to rally themselves for a huge test at Emirates Stadium in the second leg, although first there is the small matter of a Premier League clash with Manchester United. Rennes, meanwhile, host Caen on Sunday.
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