After a very nerve-wracking and frustrating first leg where Arsenal fans had to watch every possible chance created not find the back of the net albeit one, Mikel Arteta’s side showed what it really meant to them in the second leg away from home as they scored four past Slavia Prague, who they comfortably let dominate for periods of the game.
It took a while for the game to pick up momentum, and Arsenal seemed comfortable with Slavia Prague having a good chunk of the possession, until Arsenal’s first threatening counter-attack.
Bukayo Saka carried the ball down the wing and cut into the box, only for his curling effort to bounce off the post, but Emile Smith-Rowe was there for the rebound. Unfortunately, after a few minutes of checking, the goal was ruled off for offside.
Arsenal’s drive and determination hadn’t disappeared as minutes later, after some brilliant footwork in the box from Smith-Rowe, Nicolas Pepe received the ball in front of goal and calmly chipped the ball over Ondrej Kolar and the Gunners were 1-2 up on aggregate.
Minutes later, Arsenal received a penalty after Bukayo Saka looked to get taken down in the box. Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette, who had converted from the penalty spot in the Premier League on Sunday, struck the ball into the back of the net to give the Gunners yet another advantage.
Arsenal’s goals for the first half had not finished there, as following another counter-attack, Calum Chambers found the run of Saka, and his teammate struck the ball effortlessly from the outside the box and into the back of the net.
The home side’s closest chance of the half came in the 37th minute where Peter Olayinka’s high ball over the top of the defence was met by Alexander Bah who pulled it back for the striker, who struck his close-range effort over the bar by quite a distance.
The second half was very quiet compared to the first, and Arsenal seemed very comfortable sitting deep and allowing Slavia Prague to have a lot of the ball.
The Gunners scored their fourth in the 77th minutes after Saka found Pepe down the right-wing, who then squared it to Lacazette whose powerful shot could not have been stopped by Kolar and the Gunners were comfortably on their way through to the semi-finals of this campaign.
Arsenal substitute Gabriel Martinelli almost made it five on the night after a brilliant effort down the left-wing to run and cut into the box, but his effort from an angle went wide of the post.
Plenty of positive talking points from a goal-fest for the Gunners, read my thoughts on the game below…
- We took our chances
Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette over a Slavia Prague defender
Unlike in last week’s first leg, where every shot either went wide or hit the woodwork, Arsenal’s shot on goal/goal scored ratio was much more positive. Out of seven shots on goal, four out of the five that were on target hit the back of the net.
The team were more confident and composed in front of goal compared to the first leg, and you can tell how much it meant to them to win this game to progress into the competition.
The three goals scored in the first half came within six minutes of each other, and Slavia Prague had certainly given up by that point, as there was no intent and drive to get forward and they created limited chances in front of goal, keeping Bernd Leno very quiet in goal for the full 90 minutes.
The possession stats prove that Arsenal comfortably allowed the home side to dominate, because every time Arsenal did get hold of the ball, the ball would be carried forward into the final third and the next thing you know, It was probably in the back of the net.
Slavia had 61% of the possession, completed more accurate passes and had a slightly higher pass success, but with Arsenal’s confidence in front of goal and clinical finishing, those stats will be overlooked as although the home side had more of the ball, there was no drive or desire to get forward and score goals.
Despite the possession stat, Arsenal successfully completed more dribbles and tackles compared to Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side, which immediately shows that Arsenal were more determined to get a result out of this game.
If Arsenal want to make it to the final of the Europa League, they will need to be clinical in front of goal and take every chance possible as they look to face former Arsenal manager Unai Emery’s side Villarreal – who also like to take their chances regularly and score goals.
first leg</a> where Arsenal fans had to watch every possible chance created not find the back of the net albeit one, Mikel Arteta’s side showed what it really meant to them in the second leg away from home as they scored four past Slavia Prague, who they comfortably let dominate for periods of the game.</p>
<p>It took a while for the game to pick up momentum, and Arsenal seemed comfortable with Slavia Prague having a good chunk of the possession, until Arsenal’s first threatening counter-attack.</p>
<p>Bukayo Saka carried the ball down the wing and cut into the box, only for his curling effort to bounce off the post, but Emile Smith-Rowe was there for the rebound. Unfortunately, after a few minutes of checking, the goal was ruled off for offside.</p>
<p>Arsenal’s drive and determination hadn’t disappeared as minutes later, after some brilliant footwork in the box from Smith-Rowe, Nicolas Pepe received the ball in front of goal and calmly chipped the ball over Ondrej Kolar and the Gunners were 1-2 up on aggregate.</p>
<p>Minutes later, Arsenal received a penalty after Bukayo Saka looked to get taken down in the box. Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette, who had converted from the penalty spot in the Premier League on Sunday, struck the ball into the back of the net to give the Gunners yet another advantage.</p>
<p>Arsenal’s goals for the first half had not finished there, as following another counter-attack, Calum Chambers found the run of Saka, and his teammate struck the ball effortlessly from the outside the box and into the back of the net.</p>
<p>The home side’s closest chance of the half came in the 37th minute where Peter Olayinka’s high ball over the top of the defence was met by Alexander Bah who pulled it back for the striker, who struck his close-range effort over the bar by quite a distance.</p>
<p>The second half was very quiet compared to the first, and Arsenal seemed very comfortable sitting deep and allowing Slavia Prague to have a lot of the ball.</p>
<p>The Gunners scored their fourth in the 77th minutes after Saka found Pepe down the right-wing, who then squared it to Lacazette whose powerful shot could not have been stopped by Kolar and the Gunners were comfortably on their way through to the semi-finals of this campaign.</p>
<p>Arsenal substitute Gabriel Martinelli almost made it five on the night after a brilliant effort down the left-wing to run and cut into the box, but his effort from an angle went wide of the post.</p>
<p>Plenty of positive talking points from a goal-fest for the Gunners, read my thoughts on the game below…</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>We took our chances</strong></li>
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<div id="attachment_486533" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-486533 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2021/04/16/slavia-prague-0-4-arsenal-europa-league-2021/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312695904-850x560.jpeg" alt="Alexandre Lacazette vs Slavia Prague" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette over a Slavia Prague defender</p>
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<p>Unlike in last week’s first leg, where every shot either went wide or hit the woodwork, Arsenal’s shot on goal/goal scored ratio was much more positive. Out of seven shots on goal, four out of the five that were on target hit the back of the net.</p>
<p>The team were more confident and composed in front of goal compared to the first leg, and you can tell how much it meant to them to win this game to progress into the competition.</p>
<p>The three goals scored in the first half came within six minutes of each other, and Slavia Prague had certainly given up by that point, as there was no intent and drive to get forward and they created limited chances in front of goal, keeping Bernd Leno very quiet in goal for the full 90 minutes.</p>
<p>The possession stats prove that Arsenal comfortably allowed the home side to dominate, because every time Arsenal did get hold of the ball, the ball would be carried forward into the final third and the next thing you know, It was probably in the back of the net.</p>
<p>Slavia had 61% of the possession, completed more accurate passes and had a slightly higher pass success, but with Arsenal’s confidence in front of goal and clinical finishing, those stats will be overlooked as although the home side had more of the ball, there was no drive or desire to get forward and score goals.</p>
<p>Despite the possession stat, Arsenal successfully completed more dribbles and tackles compared to Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side, which immediately shows that Arsenal were more determined to get a result out of this game.</p>
<p>If Arsenal want to make it to the final of the Europa League, they will need to be clinical in front of goal and take every chance possible as they look to face former Arsenal manager Unai Emery’s side Villarreal – who also like to take their chances regularly and score goals.</p><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2021/04/16/slavia-prague-0-4-arsenal-europa-league-2021/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking point 2: Captain Confidence </a>
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<p><strong>2. Lacazette is armband material </strong></p>
<div id="attachment_486534" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-486534 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2021/04/16/slavia-prague-0-4-arsenal-europa-league-2021/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312695462-850x560.jpeg" alt="Lacazette and Arsenal teammates" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">Alexandre Lacazette celebrates with Arsenal teammates</p>
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<p>A man of the match performance from Alexandre Lacazette last night proved that if he signs another contract with the club, he should certainly be in contention to wear the captain’s armband on a more regular basis looking ahead to next season.</p>
<p>The Frenchman struck twice, once from the penalty spot and once from close range in the second half, and all he showed all the characteristics of a real leader throughout the full 90 minutes.</p>
<p>His hold-up play was magnificent, as well as the continuous pressure he put on Slavia’s back four and keeper. Putting pressure on defences is something that the striker is notoriously known for, and a strong part of his game.</p>
<p>He also acted as a real leader in the squad, as the absent regular captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang watched from his hospital bed, and the Frenchman proved to Arteta that he deserves to wear the captain’s armband more often.</p>
<p>Lacazette’s first action as a leader, which happened before the first whistle was even blown, was the taking of the knee directly in front of the Slavia Prague team before kick-off; following the racial abuse charge against Ondrej Kudela after an early round defeat to Rangers.</p>
<p>Lacazette has now scored four goals in his last two games for Arsenal, making that 17 goals in all competition for the striker who is currently on track to become the clubs highest goalscorer this season. He is also close to equalling his highest goal tally for a season at Arsenal, which he achieved in the 2018/19 season.</p>
<p>It will be an interesting transfer window for the Gunners, where some Arsenal fans want to sell Lacazette, whereas others want to keep him as he’s such an integral part of the squad.</p><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2021/04/16/slavia-prague-0-4-arsenal-europa-league-2021/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking point 3: Youngsters shine </a>
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<p><strong>3. Attacking threat was key</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_486537" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-486537 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2021/04/16/slavia-prague-0-4-arsenal-europa-league-2021/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312695853-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal future star Bukayo star" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">Bukayo Saka, Arsenal star to come</p>
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<p>Three out of Arsenal’s four attacking players got their name on the scoresheet on Friday night, while the other was unlucky to get his goal ruled offside. This shows how threatening all of the attacking players were going forward into the final third, and just how crucial they were in the end result.</p>
<p>Emile Smith-Rowe had an outstanding game, running everywhere, full of energy and being that link-up pivot player in the centre of the attack for other players to feed off.</p>
<p>The youngster got a well-earned assist for the first goal of the night after having his own effort ruled offside, and really proved how crucial he has been for this Arsenal side since becoming a regular starter this season.</p>
<p>Every time he picked the ball up, Smith-Rowe was driving forward into the final third and picking out passes for his teammates, who were able to produce the finishes that were needed.</p>
<p>Bukayo Saka also had a great game, getting his name on the scoresheet as well as winning Arsenal their penalty and also striking the woodwork early on.</p>
<p>The youngster’s first-half stats included two tackles and an interception, as well as 100% duel and cross accuracy rates. The 19-year old, who doesn’t turn 20 till September, has exceptional stats in the Europa League at Arsenal with four goals and eight assists in 15 games for the Gunners.</p>
<p>The partnership and link-up of both academy graduates have really shone this season in the first team, and both are such crucial players going forward into the future.</p>
<p>Finally, you can’t forget Nicolas Pepe, who had a brilliant game on the right wing, getting on the scoresheet and grabbing an assist.</p>
<p>Recently, the Ivorian has built up so much more confidence and has played some crucial parts in lots of Arsenal’s recent games. He has now been directly involved with nine of Arsenal’s Europa League goals this campaign, with no player in the competition having a higher goal involvement.</p>
<p>With a £72 million price tag, expectations are always going to be high for a player labelled with such a high price tag and this season, especially towards the end as he begins to get more regular game time, the 25-year old is becoming a very important player in the squad going forward.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">