The strengths and weaknesses of Stade Rennes

Arsenal’s quest for Europa League glory and Champions League football continues when they face French side Stade Rennes in the round-of-16.

The Red and Blacks finished second behind Dynamo Kyiv in Group K, negotiating their way past Kazak side Astana and Jablonec of the Czech Republic with nine points, before seeing off Real Betis with a 6-4 aggregate win in the round-of-32.

Rennes are 10th in Ligue 1, sitting on the fringes of the battle for European places, and while Arsenal will be heavy favourites to come through this tie, Julien Stephan’s side still carry a number of substantial threats that Unai Emery must prepare his squad for.

At Squawka, we’ve taken a look at three Rennes strengths which could hurt Arsenal, as well as two weaknesses the Gunners could look to exploit.

Strengths

Attacking fluidity and unpredictability

Stephan has rotated 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 systems this season with only one real certainty to the starting line-up: Ismaila Sarr will be deployed on the right wing.

Through the middle, Rennes often have Hatem Ben Arfa playing as a trequartista, using his brilliant dribbling skills to commit slower centre-backs, while he also has the ability to drop slightly deeper to play killer passes through gaps in opposition defences.

Former Watford man, Mbaye Niang, has shifted between left-wing and centre-forward roles this season while Adrien Hunou, a natural midfielder, has also found himself up front more often than not this season, using his touch and passing skills to play the aforementioned trio into space.

Having the likes of Ben Arfa and Hunou through the middle means Rennes can move the ball quickly in front of and around opposition defences, meaning space will inevitably be created for the lightening-quick Niang and Sarr, making Stephan’s side incredibly fluid when hitting teams on the break – Rennes have averaged 3.69 shots per 90 minutes from counter attacks this season, with the Ligue 1 average sitting at 3.02.

It also makes Rennes incredibly hard to predict for opposition managers; will they play a false-nine? Will they play Niang through the middle and go with direct pace in behind? These are the sorts of questions Emery must answer if he is to get a result at Roazhon Park in the first leg on Thursday.

Dribbling

It’s all well and good mixing up your attacking shape and trying to make yourselves hard to predict but to do that, you must have players who can come up with individual moments of brilliance and take defenders to task – Rennes are certainly not short in this department.

Ben Arfa (182) and Sarr (181) both appear in the top 10 in Ligue 1 for players attempting dribbles and one-on-one attacks against individual defenders this season. While the latter is quickly moving into the vision of Europe’s top clubs, the former’s mercurial talents have been on display for years and Premier League fans know only too well what Ben Arfa is capable of on his day – close attention must be paid to him by Arsenal’s centre-backs and deep-lying midfielders.

(Photo credit JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty Images)

As a team, Rennes have averaged 30.74 dribbles and one-on-ones against defenders per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 this season, the fourth-highest in the division, only adding to their unpredictability and meaning an often unsettled Arsenal defence will have to remain sharp across the two legs to keep their star talent quiet.

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Ismaila Sarr

So, we’ve referenced Sarr plenty of times already, now it’s time to show why.

With five goals and four assists, the 21-year-old has been directly involved in nine Ligue 1 goals for Rennes this season, more than any other player at the club, while no Rennes player has had more touches in the opposition box in Ligue 1 than Sarr’s 77.

More worryingly for Arsenal is the fact that the Senegalese supremo has bagged three goals and provided two assists in the Europa League this season and the big stage seems to be doing anything but faze Sarr – if Rennes are to defy the odds, you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be via some brilliance from him.

(Photo credit LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)

His dribbling and desire to get into the opposition box also creates acres of space for his partner in crime on the right wing, full-back Hamari Traore, who has provided the third-highest number of key passes (14) in Ligue 1 this season, while he also ranks fifth for crosses from the right flank in the French top flight with 73.

Rather than fielding the outrageously attacking Sead Kolasinac at left-back, Emery may well go for the experience and discipline of Nacho Monreal, protected by Alex Iwobi, to try and nullify what is undoubtedly Rennes’ most dangerous area.

With speculation linking Arsenal with a summer move for Sarr, fans at the Emirates will be paying close attention to these Europa League ties.

Weaknesses

Defensive duels

Rennes might have roadrunner-esque pace and unpredictability up front, but Arsenal will certainly have enough in the armoury themselves to scare what is a distinctly average defence.

In Ligue 1 this season, Rennes have been crippled by an inability to win back possession with a success rate of just 20.51% in defensive duels – only Caen (19.46%) rank lower in this respect.

(Photo credit LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)

Stephan’s side have conceded 33 goals in the league this season, pretty much the average in the French top flight, but have kept just two clean sheets from eight Europa League games this term, both of which came against arguably weaker Czech and Kazak opposition.

If Arsenal can keep hold of the ball, they should easily be able to work shooting opportunities for Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who are both all but guaranteed to take their chances with a combined 32 goals between them so far this term.

Defending crosses

While Rennes aren’t horrendous at defending set pieces, there is certainly a weakness at the heart of their defence when defending crosses.

Stephan’s side have conceded seven goals from headers in Ligue 1 this season, with the division average currently sitting at 5.75, and are particularly susceptible to crosses from open play.

Rennes have deployed a zonal/man-marking hybrid to a large degree of success when defending set pieces this season, but when the cross or free kick is played short, or the opposition attacks from wings during open play, their centre-backs – Mexer and Damien Da Silva – lose their organisation and allow attackers to get between or across them with relative ease.

(Photo credit FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)

Aubemeyang and Lacazette could obviously profit from this but Arsenal’s biggest threat to Rennes when delivering balls into the box could actually be Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman’s late runs into the box have become a hallmark of his game over the past decade, helping him to a running total of 62 goals in an Arsenal shirt.

Ramsey is built to play against defences that leave spaces as Rennes’ does and the 28-year-old is a dark horse to be the deciding factor in this Europa League tie.

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