Arsenal booked their place in the last-eight of the Europa League after two goals from Danny Welbeck either side of Granit Xhaka’s strike gave the Gunners a 3-1 (5-1 on aggregate) win against AC Milan at the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger’s men had a 2-0 aggregate lead from last week’s clash at the San Siro but lacked purpose in the opening stages and survived an early scare when Andre Silva pulled his strike wide after just 45 seconds. Milan took the lead after 35 minutes when Hakan Calhanoglu struck from 25 yards out but David Ospina, stepping in for Petr Cech, will feel his positioning should have been better on reflection.
The tie swung back in Arsenal’s favour two minutes later when referee Jonas Eriksson took advice from the assistant referee behind the goal who felt Welbeck was brought down by Ricardo Rodriguez – though replays showed minimal contact.
Genaro Gattuso’s side came close to regaining the lead after the interval but Gianluigi Donnarumma’s mistake gifted Xhaka a goal before Welbeck added his second of the night late on.
Milan’s mini revival in the run-up to the first-leg proved to be overblown when Arsenal cut through Gattuso’s side almost at will in northern Italy last Thursday. The Serie A giants have kept eight clean sheets in their last nine games but even this Arsenal side was able to carve them open and they continued to do so at the Emirates. It did, in fairness, take a while.
Milan were the better side for the majority of the first half and capitalised on the passive atmosphere at the Emirates. Arsenal’s 2-0 lead from the first leg meant they didn’t know whether to stick or twist and Calhanoglu deservedly put his side ahead. The Turkey international was picking up spaces between Arsenal’s midfield and their defence and he unleashed a decent strike from 25 yards out that swerved into the bottom right hand corner.
Ospina’s positioning was questionable and at that stage supporters were rightly questioning the folly of dropping Cech, the undisputed number one, for the Colombian. However, the goal actually simplified Arsenal’s task. Now they knew they needed to score and supporters found their collective voice as they realised they were back in a game.
Calhanoglu put Milan ahead on the night (Picture: Getty)
The Gunners produced more intensity in the four minutes after Milan’s opener than they did in the opening 35 minutes but their route back into the match was aided by a controversial decision from the referee’s assistant.
Welbeck latched onto a ball behind Milan’s defence and fell to the ground in installments after minimal contact from Swiss defender Rodriguez. Referee Eriksson didn’t appear to look interested at the start but pointed to the spot on the advice of his assistant behind the goal.
Milan were furious but their protests came to no avail. Welbeck had just one goal in his last 14 appearances before tonight but stepped forward to take the penalty and put Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way to restore Arsenal’s two goal lead on aggregate.
It was a cruel way for Milan to bow out after a decent performance but in truth the damage had been done in the first leg.
The Serie A giants spent more than £200million last summer – the most in Italy – and had pinned their hopes on Europa League success to regain entry into the Champions League.
Milan last competed in Europe’s elite competition in 2013/14 but were knocked out in the last-16 by Atletico Madrid. Their absence has cost the club more in money than it has in prestige but their struggles shouldn’t be too far from Arsenal’s thoughts in the remainder of their Europa League campaign. Milan are a high profile example of what can happen to a giant club that allows a poor season to morph into half a decade of isolation.
Xhaka put Arsenal 4-1 up on aggregate (Picture: Getty)
The Gunners’ top four hopes are gone and they need to win this season’s competition to salvage their season. A second season outside of the Champions League is taxing on every level of the club, not least its finances.
January’s recruitment of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan proved the club can attract top class players without the lure of Champions League football but, as AC Milan show, it’s a long, difficult road back to the top.
Wenger is clinging onto his tenure at Arsenal and he may need to win May’s final in Lyon to see out the final year of his contract but the club, with the threat of a second season outside the Champions League looming, need it as much as he does.
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