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Arsenal qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League this season, following a win of former European giants over two-legs in the round of 16 in Europe’s second-tier competition. English forward Danny Welbeck who was recalled to the England squad after a long time away, was instrumental in pushing Arsenal through; as he scored a brace including a controversial penalty for Arsenal as they beat an Ac Milan that looked devoid of any kind of inspiration.
Team Line-Up:
Arsenal - Ospina; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Xhaka, Wilshere; Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck
Milan - Donnarumma; Borini, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez; Kessie, Calhanoglu, Montolivo, Suso; Cutrone, Andre Silva
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden).
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 58,973
Scoreline: Arsenal 3 - 1 AC Milan (5 – 1 aggregate)
Having won the first leg 2 – 0 in San Siro, home of Milan, a second-leg at the Emirates seemed like a piece of cake, as Arsenal only had to avoid conceding two goals in order to qualify for the next stage of the competition. However, the night didn’t start off according to Arsene Wenger or Arsenal’s script, because Ac Milan scored after 35 minutes to bring the tie back to life, and give the Italians the hope of overturning the first-leg’s deficit and perhaps progressing ahead of Arsenal.
Hakan Calhanoglu was the Milan player to deal Arsenal the blow as he fired from 30 yards after being given the space to run at Arsenal unchallenged, to produce a brilliant finish.
On the strength of Milan’s goal, Arsenal woke up to the responsibility in front of them, and four minutes after Milan’s goal, Arsenal equalised albeit from a very controversial penalty. Danny Welbeck was adjudged by the referee, to have been brought down by Ricardo Rodriguez in the area, despite minimal to contact.
The referee awarded the spot-kick and Welbeck levelled to several shouts of relief from the Arsenal supporters at the Emirates stadium.
More woes were heaped on Milan after Arsenal’s equaliser; because with 20 minutes left in the tie, highly rated Italian goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, allowed a long range effort from Arsenal Midfielder, Granit Xhaka to squirm past him into his net, for Arsenal’s second goal on the night, and fourth goal in the tie.
It eventually got worse for the Italians, as with just four minutes left of the ninety, Welbeck sealed and resounding victory for Arsenal with a close-range header, for Arsenal’s third straight win in all competitions.
The 5 – 1 aggregate win for Arsenal over Ac Milan in the Europa League now means that Arsenal have, for the first time since 2010, reached a European quarter-final. The draws for the last-eight is set to take place on Friday from 12:00 GMT, after which Arsenal will learn about their opposition for the next round of the competition.
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