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Wenger unfazed by poor turnout

Less than 30,000 fans were at the Emirates to watch Arsenal's 6-0 Europa League victory over Bate Borisov yesterday morning (Singapore time), but manager Arsene Wenger was unfazed.

The Gunners, who had already secured top spot in Group H, scored through Mathieu Debuchy, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Mohamed Elneny, an own goal by Denis Polyakov and an Olivier Giroud penalty.

The win was Wenger's 700th as Gunners boss.

He said: "It's true that you prefer the ground to be full, but tonight there was not a lot at stake on the competitive side. You respect the decision of your fans.

"They knew we were top of the group anyway and you could basically expect that."

Arsenal, who visit Southampton tomorrow, will be England's only representatives in the Europa League's Round of 32 draw on Monday. Everton, the EPL's other representative in Europa League, had long been eliminated.

The Gunners could face teams who have dropped out of the Champions League, such as Borussia Dortmund, Celtic, Napoli or Spartak Moscow. - WIRE SERVICES

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