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Football London
Football London
Sport
Scott Trotter & Lee Wilmot

The three Arsenal stars walking the disciplinary tightrope in Europa League tie against Napoli

Arsenal put in a commanding display to defeat Napoli 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the first-leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

If it wasn't for their troublesome away form then the Gunners would be considered hot favourites to book a place in the semi-finals against either Valencia or Villarreal.

One thing that might have started swirling around Europa League specialist Unai Emery's head is how to manage his squad to ensure they are available for a potential semi-final date.

Jamie Carragher names the change Unai Emery must make to improve Arsenal's away form

Fortunately, there were no additional problems arising from the first leg against the Serie A side.

Players are suspended for one game once they pick up three yellow cards in the competition and there are three Arsenal players who are at risk of missing a potential semi-final first leg, and will do if they are cautioned in Naples on Thursday night.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Granit Xhaka and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are the trio who are walking a tightrope from the first whistle at the San Paolo Stadium.

If they can avoid a booking in the match their slate will then be wiped clean. Bookings are wiped out at the end of the quarter-final stage.

Elseid Hysaj picked up the only caution in North London last week and as such has the potential to miss a semi-final if he collects another in Naples, while Arkadiusz Milik, and Mario Rui are also at risk if they take to the pitch on Thursday.

However, for whichever team exits the competitions, the yellow cards do expire at the end of the season.

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