The Road to Baku: How Arsenal reached the Europa League final
Not for the first time this season, Arsenal travel to Baku for a Europa League tie. Having routinely dispatched of Qarabag in Azerbaijan, the Gunners will be looking to make it two wins from two in the outer reaches of Europe.
Unai Emery will look to build on his fine Europa League record having thrice navigated Sevilla to the trophy as the Spainard aims to guide Arsenal to the Champions League via Europe’s second club competition. Having already overcome Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea side in their last meeting between the two, securing a 2-0 win in the process, Emery will be confident of making it back-to-back victories over his under fire managerial counterpart.
Their group stage campaign threw up a banana skin or two along the way, with the Gunners drawn alongside Taca de Portugal winners Sporting, but in picking up 16 points of a possible 18, Arsenal’s strength was again on show to help ease to the knockout stages.
A 4-2 home win over Vorskla kickstarted what would be an unbeaten group stage campaign as Arsenal got their European campaign off to the best possible start. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted either side of half time as the Gabon international outlined his intentions to finish as the competition’s top scorer - he is two goals behind Olivier Giroud and Luka Jovic ahead of tonight’s final - while goals from Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil secured all three points.
Arsenal took their foot off the gas in the final 15 minutes as goals from Vladimir Chesnakov and Vyacheslav Sharpar denied the Gunners a clean sheet, but it saw the north London side get their Europa League campaign off to a sprinting start. They didn’t let up either in their comprehensive 3-0 win at Qarabag with Sokratis’ opener after four minutes the opportune start to the game. Young duo Emile Smith Rowe and Matteo Guendouzi got their name on the scoresheet in the first of two matches in Baku that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will cruelly miss out on.
The result of the group stage that further confirmed Arsenal’s position as one of the competition’s early favourites was their hard-fought 1-0 win at Sporting. Danny Welbeck’s late winner was more than deserving as Arsenal dictated the tempo in Portugal, enjoying 66.9% possession and ensuring Sporting failed to have a shot on target, which is all the more commendable given the hosts had 15 shots in total. That Sokratis (7.47) was the WhoScored man of the match signified a solid defensive performance from Emery’s men.
The reverse fixture in London was the only match that Arsenal dropped points in in the group stage in what was a relatively dull affair. A 0-0 draw that saw only two shots on target from either team was a favourable result for both parties in a stalemate where the most entertaining event came in Jeremy Mathieu’s late red card. Cruelly for Welbeck, the hero in Portugal, a season-ending first half injury possibly brought his Gunners career to a premature end, though he will hope to make an appearance tonight in Baku having travelled and trained with the squad.
Arsenal’s final two group games were routine wins at Vorskla and a home victory over Qarabag, the latter allowing for Emery to experiment with a number of the Gunners’ fine young products, with teenage winger Bukayo Saka picking up the man of the match award in a win that saw Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, Charlie Gilmour and Zech Medley feature.
February kicked off the knockout stages of the Europa League, but Arsenal’s last-32 match got off to a bad start as they fell to a 1-0 loss at BATE Borisov. Stanislav Drgaun’s goal on the stroke of half time proved the difference on a frustrating evening for Arsenal, who saw Alexandre Lacazette red carded late on. That being said, the Gunners made light work of BATE in the return leg, ultimately progressing 3-1 on aggregate. Zakhar Volkov’s 5th minute own goal drew Arsenal level on aggregate before goals either side of half time from unlikely sources in Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis eventually saw the Gunners progress to the last-16.
Like in the last-32 clash, Arsenal’s last-16 opener got off to the worst possible start. A Hatem Ben Arfa inspired performance saw Rennes secure a 3-1 first leg win in France as Sokratis saw red in a miserable evening in France. Alex Iwobi’s early away goal proved crucial in the grand scheme of things, though, as Arsenal landed a 3-0 win in London to progress 4-3 on aggregate. Strikes from Benjamin Bourigeaud and Ismaila Sarr either side of a Nacho Monreal own goal were cancelled out by an Aubameyang brace and a Ainsley Maitland-Niles goal on the 15-minute mark to secure their spot in the quarter-finals.
If the 1-0 win at Sporting was a sign of things to come from Arsenal, the maturity shown in their progression to the semi-finals reinforced their favourites spot as the Gunners secured a 3-0 aggregate win over Napoli. Having dropped into the Europa League following their Champions League elimination, the Serie A side were the worst possible opponents for Arsenal, but they eased into the next round of the Europa League. Aaron Ramsey capped a fine team goal after 14 minutes before a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave Arsenal a home leg advantage.
Napoli were tipped to come out all guns blazing at the Stadio San Paolo, but Lacazette’s first half goal took the wind out of the Partenopei’s sails. Napoli huffed and puffed on home turf, mustering 20 shots to Arsenal’s seven, but with just two on target, it was another fine away performance from Emery’s side as the Spaniard masterminded a fine tactical showing to setup a semi-final meeting with Valencia.
Los Che struck first in London through Mouctar Diakhaby, but any early nerves were put to rest as Lacazette’s quick fire brace had Arsenal ahead midway through the first half. The Frenchman’s partner in crime Aubameyang confirmed a first leg 3-1 win and a clear advantage to take to Spain the following week.
Kevin Gameiro halved the deficit on aggregate after 11 minutes, but Valencia saw their hopes of knocking Arsenal out extinguished either side of half time. Aubameyang drew the Gunners level on the night after 17 minutes before Lacazette bagged his only goal of the night five minutes after the break. Gameiro gave Valencia a glimmer of hope on the hour mark, only for Aubameyang to score his second and third in the latter stages of the clash in Valencia to secure their final berth.
With Emery’s Europa league experience shining through more than once, Arsenal have every opportunity of ending the season with silverware at Chelsea’s expense and with it, secure a place in next season’s Champions League. The absence of Ramsey and Mkhitaryan, the latter’s adding to the controversy surrounding this London derby held 3000 miles away, will dent their chances, but the Europa League is Emery’s bread and butter and a trophy he will be looking to lift for the fourth time of his career.
