Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has refused to follow some of his counterparts by suggesting the Premier League should do more to help English clubs in Europe.

So that’s Thursday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

Arsenal will play their second leg at the Emirates on a Wednesday at 5pm.

Arsenal can compete for the Europa League title but the players must first cope with the long-distance travel during their group-stage matches, warned manager Unai Emery yesterday.

Boom! Boom! And out went the lights in Europe for Irish football this season, writes Liam Mackey

Arsene Wenger has called on his Arsenal side to put on the sort of displays that will have stay-away fans returning to the Emirates Stadium.

Dundalk FC investor Corey Woolfolk insists the club can follow in Rosenborg’s footsteps by earning themselves the upgrade of Oriel Park that most supporters crave.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits it is unrealistic for the Gunners to talk about winning the Premier League title.

FC Copenhagen emerged from a three-way qualification fight to reach the knockout stages thanks to a 2-0 win over Sheriff.

Arsene Wenger insists his team selection will always reflect what is best for Arsenal — even if that means frustrating some of his star players.

Cologne 1 - Arsenal 0: Arsene Wenger saw his Arsenal side secure top spot in their Europa League group despite falling to defeat at Cologne thanks to what he sarcastically deemed a “very nice penalty”.

Arsenal fell to a narrow defeat at Cologne tonight but will still progress into the knockout stages of the Europa League as Group H winners.

Mauricio Pochettino would not swap the progress made at Tottenham over the last three years for Arsenal’s two FA Cups.

BATE Borisov 2 - Arsenal 4: Arsene Wenger praised Jack Wilshere’s “outstanding” contribution to Arsenal’s 4-2 Europa League victory at BATE Borisov.

An understrength Arsenal side survived a late fightback from BATE Borisov to secure a 4-2 victory in Belarus.

An under-strength Arsenal XI survived a late fightback from BATE Borisov

Arsene Wenger has urged his young players to seize the chance presented by Arsenal’s Europa League campaign as they await their opening away fixture at BATE Borisov in Belarus.

Arsene Wenger will put his faith in modern-day recovery methods to prepare his Arsenal players for a busy week — even though he does not trust them.

Laurent Koscielny will start the long journey of putting his FA Cup final heartbreak behind him when he returns from suspension for Arsenal tomorrow.

Arsenal and Everton face challenging tests on their return to the Europa League following Friday's group stage draw in Monaco.

Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny felt his team defended poorly as they bowed out of the Europa League with a 2-1 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Netanya.

One defeat doesn’t define Dundalk’s remarkable season even if, with so much at stake, last night’s 2-1 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv is bound to leave Stephen Kenny and his players with an acute sense of deflation at the end of their European dream.

Ciaran Kilduff insists Dundalk’s European adventure isn’t over yet and is confident they can put their recent setback against AZ Alkmaar behind them by beating the Dutch side and Maccabi Tel Aviv to the runners-up spot in Group D of the Europa League tomorrow night.

It probably says everything about what Dundalk are achieving this season that the overriding feeling at the end of this defeat to Zenit was one of acute disappointment.

Moldova 1 Republic of Ireland 3: In the usual manner, Ireland made this harder for themselves than was strictly necessary, not for the first time surrendering an early lead in a game, before a second half James McClean brace reasserted the visitors’ general superiority and deservedly sent them joint top on points of Group D with Serbia.

Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny says he has no regrets about missing out on glamour opposition as yesterday’s Europa League draw placed the Irish champions in a testing and long-haul group comprising Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg, Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv.

It’s been a week of hotshots and superlatives to add to the store of good things in Irish football in 2016.

Dundalk’s Champions League dream might have ended in Poland on Tuesday night but their hopes of making a further impression in Europe have only just begun, according to striker David McMillan.

Dundalk’s 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov in Tallaght was widely acclaimed as perhaps the best ever performance and result by an Irish club in European competition.

A disparity in resources off the pitch was eventually mirrored by those on the Lansdowne Road turf.

The standard line from footballers is that you treat every game the same but, with the best wishes of Martin O’Neill ringing in their ears, the news that President Michael D. Higgins will be in attendance and, as of yesterday, around 23,000 tickets already sold, there’s no escaping the reality that the footballers of Dundalk will be contesting the highest stakes match of their lives when they take to the Aviva Stadium pitch to play Legia Warsaw in their Champions League play-off first leg tomorrow evening.

Dundalk's heroics in European competition this summer have shown that the national broadcaster has abdicated its responsibilities to the domestic league, writes Joe Leogue

THE quote of the week had to be Stephen Kenny describing the luminous moment in Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday night when Robbie Benson’s clinical finish found the back of the net, sealing Dundalk’s stunning 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov and taking the club to the giddy heights of a play-off for a place in the group stages of the Champions League.

Stephen Kenny will be in Poland tomorrow to watch Legia Warsaw host Piast Gliwice as Dundalk accelerate preparations for their huge Champions League play-off games against the Polish champions at Aviva Stadium on August 17 and in Warsaw on August 23.

Dundalk's David McMillan has revealed the extent to which becoming the first Irish club to reach the Champions League could transform their fortunes.

The Football Association of Ireland has finalised the venue for Dundalk's Champions League Play-Off Round qualifier.