Who are Dundalk, Arsenal’s first opponents from the Republic of Ireland?

Arsenal will face a Republic of Ireland team for the first time in a competitive match on Thursday.

They did this even though they are struggling nationally.

“Dundalk has gone from being the dominant club in the country to a European race that covers the cracks,” said Irish Independent football correspondent Daniel McDonnell, who is from the area.

“But the owners have now achieved their goal of getting the club back to the group stage and they got there via an unknown manager, who jumped like a rabbit out of the hat.”

This is the second time the Lilywhites have qualified for the Europa League in five years.

Having reached the 2016 Europa League group stage, racking up four points in his first two games before losing the remaining four and winning three consecutive national titles with Stephen Kenny, Dundalk looked set to rule Irish football for years.

But they have failed to win the title in two of the next four seasons, including this season – and with two games still to be played, a place in the Europa Conference League next year is still uncertain (no Irish team will automatically enter qualifiers for the Europa League next year).

In 2018 Dundalk was taken over by Peak6 Sports, which also owned 25% of Bournemouth from 2015 to 2019.

The US investment firm wanted to take over management of Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and play 10 home games per season at the national stadium, which is more than 50 miles from Dundalk.

They were ready to field an under 19 team in an important league match, because they wanted the first team to play a friendly with Celtic, and President Bill Hulsizer would have wanted a telephone line installed on the bench so that he could offer his opinion during matches. .

“Rather than being a faceless absent owner, they went in another direction,” said reporter McDonnell, who has written in depth on the Dundalk property.

“Bill Hulsizer – the father of Peak6 billionaire co-founder Matt – does not work for the company, but he is now the voice of the property and his interviews continue to raise questions about the level of knowledge of football and the realities of the game. Here. “

Their highlight, however, was the surprise appointment of Filippo Giovagnoli as interim head coach in August.

If you haven’t heard of the 49-year-old, that’s understandable. The former Serie C player and AC Milan summer camp organizer was the manager of the coach at the Metropolitan Oval Academy in New York when he got the call from Dundalk.

This is the first time he is manager of a senior team.

He’s not short of a bite either. He called his job a “kamikaze mission” when he replaced Vinny Perth, who was sacked after qualifying for the Champions League.

His assistant is longtime partner Giuseppe Rossi (not the former Manchester United player).

Their appointment was met with understandable skepticism – Dundalk rivals enjoyed the news – but there can be no doubt about the work they have done.

The Italian duo overtook Andorra’s Inter Escaldes, Moldova’s Sheriff Tiraspol (on penalties) and Faroese side KI in three single leg qualifying rounds.

Reaching this stage guaranteed the club around 3 million euros (2.7 million pounds). “They are proof that anything is possible in life,” Giovagnoli later said.

They led Molde into the first group match at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin but lost 2-1, a result that cost them around another £ 500,000.

McDonnell said: “I think they are popular now, although a couple of disappointing results in the league have held back some of the positivity.

Filippo and Giuseppe came in from the start, got the players involved early, showed they knew their stuff on the training pitch and helped lift the spirit of a dressing room that was in bad shape with their positive approach.

“They’ve won over a lot of people; and I think some people who were very tough about their appointment now feel a little embarrassed about it.”

But despite all this, Arsenal is unlikely to encounter strong opposition on Thursday at Emirates Stadium.

“Unfortunately, the current Dundalk side are struggling to stand out in the League of Ireland as well,” said McDonnell.

Dundalk have conceded 20 goals in 16 league games – more than in last year’s 36 games – and have only won three of 11 top-flight games since the restart.

Their top scorer, Pat Hoban – who had forgettable spells with Oxford, Stevenage, Grimsby and Mansfield – scored nine goals. No one else has managed more than four.

“The budget is considerably higher than in 2016, but that team was one of the best teams Ireland has ever seen,” said McDonnell.

“Dundalk in 2020 has underperformed enormously. They lack the spark and energy of that team of 2016. The fear is that they don’t really have the pace and invention to create problems for teams at group stage level.”