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Hasi - Organisation key for Anderlecht

Besnik Hasi
Besnik Hasi

Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi says his team must remain focused and organised if they are to get a result at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Belgian side were just minutes away from victory when the sides met in Brussels a fortnight ago, but conceded twice in the closing stages to relinquish a one-goal lead.

While that performance was encouraging, Hasi's side have won just one of their last five league matches, and will be without key players in north London.

"I think that the first game Arsenal underestimated us a little bit"

"They might dominate, but we have a young side with a lot of talent, despite the fact that we're missing [Matias Suarez] and [Steven] Defour," Hasi said. "We must not be afraid - we need to give our all. They are at home but we need to be organised and face up to the challenge.

"We were satisfied in the first half [in Belgium a fortnight ago]. We knew that they had a lot of quality and they would push it.

"We thought if we were organised and kept [Arsenal out] in the first half, we would get more spaces. We made it 1-0 but we forgot to make it 2-0 or 3-0 and in the end, due to some mistakes we made, we let Arsenal come back.

"I think that the first game Arsenal underestimated us a little bit. They were probably surprised in the second half, because they needed to push and we used the spaces."

 

Lukas Podolski against Anderlecht

 

Alexis Sanchez has excelled of late and was instrumental when the sides met in Belgium. Hasi is aware of the threat the Chilean will pose but says his side will have to be wary of all Arsenal's attacking threats.

"I think we dealt with him pretty well at home, but he's always dangerous whenever he picks up the ball," he said. "They played two games after they played us and they've won them both very easily, creating a lot of opportunities. He's not the only dangerous player - they have several guys who can change a game."

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