Aubameyang’s header at the 87th minute sealed the match for Arsenal as they won the game by a scoreline of 3-2 with an aggregate score of 4-3. This win means that they have now qualified for the Round of 16 of the Europa League and will face Olympiacos at the same venue.
It was a thriller of a match as Arsenal made a comeback from being 2-1 down thanks to an equalizing goal from Tierney and then the decisive goal which was scored by Aubameyang with the help of the brilliant assist from Bukayo Saka. The two players also paired up for the first goal. Aubameyang has once again proved why is he the talisman of the team, giving a captain’s performance on the field. Also, Bukayo Saka, who is becoming Arsenal’s best player by performing brilliantly day in and out.
But the same cannot be said for Arsenal’s defense line, who was once again sloppy on the field which cost them conceding two goals. The midfielders, however, had a pretty decent day on the field.
This win has given Arteta a real lifeline as they were nearly going to lose the match which would have ended their European journey for the 2020-21 season. So, this win is really important as this is their only chance to win a trophy this season.
Arsenal Players’ Report
Arsenal’s Goalkeeper Brend Leno had an average game as he handled the ball pretty well and made a couple of saves but couldn’t do much about either of the two goals he conceded as the first goal was a beautiful freekick by Diogo Goncalves and the other goal he conceded was a serious mistake by the Arsenal defense which was scattered and unorganized.
Speaking of their Defense unit, They looked a bit sluggish and unorganized especially David Luiz, who played the game at his own pace which was really slow, and started losing his focus in the second half which was a crucial half of the match. His countryman Gabriel Magalhaes too looked off from his game as he also looked cautious while distributing the ball which eventually led to a drop in his performance as the match went on.
Kieran Tierney struggled the whole match as he still doesn’t look match fit and pushed himself and eventually scored the equalizing goal which brought Arsenal back in the game. Hector Bellerin too looked tired as he was very slow in his movements and also didn’t had a pretty dull offensive game as Saka was covered by two-three Benfica defenders which forced him to play the ball back and or pass it to the other flank.
In the middle, Martin Odegaard was really good for Arsenal as had the ball more than anyone on the pitch and picked up the right spaces to play. Other than that, Granit Xhaka had a good game too as his passing and his steal were pretty neat, and moved the ball smoothly in the middle. But for Dani Ceballos, it was a match to forget as his two crucial mistakes cost the team conceding two important goals which resulted in nearly getting them out of the championship. But other than that, he still was good as he recovered possession and helped in creating some open spaces in-between a tight press on the midfield.
But the main protagonists for their comeback were their captain Aubameyang and Saka as the pair linked up for the first and the third goal. It was a brilliant performance once again from Bukayo Saka, who is strongly making the right flank his own as he made some great chances in clutch movements and carried the team forward to the next round of the competition. But Saka couldn’t have done it all by himself and was helped by his captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was spearheading their attack as he was seen in great touch and made some clinical finishes including one goal which was called offside. It was a night to remember for the both of them. But the same cannot be said for Emile Smith-Rowe, who looked a bit uncomfortable playing in the left flank as he was a bit cautious about taking the man on and looked to provide some creative passes. Still, he kept with his good pressing.
During the match, Substitutions were made. William, who came on to the field at the 63rd minute replacing Smith-Rowe, straight away impacted the game as he made an assist to Tierney which helped Arsenal to equalize the score. Other than that, Thomas Partey came on to the field at the 63rd minute after his recovery from the injury but couldn’t make an impact in the game as he would like. The same can be said for Alexander Lacazette, who came on to the field at the 78th minute and couldn’t do much.
Elneny Mohamed and Calum Chambers were also brought on at the 90th minute and played only a couple of minutes.
MATCH TO LOOK FORWARD
Arsenal will travel back to England as they will face Leicester City in the Premier League, who are currently sitting at the 3rd position in the points table with 49 points, same as Manchester United who are at the 2nd position. Leicester City are out of the Europa League as they lost 2-0 to Slavia Prague in the second leg of the Round of 32, but still, they will be very confident while facing Arsenal in the Premier League as they are having a good run-of-form winning three of their last four matches.
