Arsenal overcame Napoli 1-0 in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final to reach the semis with an impressive 3-0 aggregate victory.
The Gunners went to Italy only needing to avoid a two-goal defeat, or a three-goal defeat if they managed to get on the scoresheet. However, the team took their destiny into their own hands by taking the lead through an Alexandre Lacazette free-kick in the first half.
With Napoli needing four, their confidence certainly appeared to take a knock. Though the hosts continued pushing for the opening goal to spark a comeback, Arsenal never really looked worried about that actually happening.
In the end, Unai Emery’s side kept their sixth clean sheet in seven games and set up a trip to Valencia in the semis. Let’s have a look at our player ratings for the clash.
Front Three
Aaron Ramsey 7
Ramsey started the match impressively, making a couple of tackles and creating a chance in the opening half an hour. Unfortunately, he then suffered an apparent hamstring injury, which could keep him out for the rest of the Premier League season.
We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that there’s a Europa League final for him to aim for, and one final match with Arsenal.
Alexandre Lacazette 8.5
Lacazette was typically hard working, chasing down lost causes and winning the ball back well on a couple of occasions. Most importantly, his free-kick was fantastic and completely changed the dynamic of the tie. He wrong-footed Alex Meret with an accurate and powerful set piece at just the right moment for Arsenal.
That was just the cherry on top of another positive performance from the striker in all of the things he did that so often go unnoticed, like his link-up play and his off-the-ball runs to create space.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 6
Aubameyang did have a few shots on target, and he should’ve converted at least one of them into a goal. He won a few aerial duels against Vlad Chiriches, but he lost every time he came up against Kalidou Koulibaly, which shouldn’t be any surprise. Overall, the striker could’ve made more of his opportunities, but it didn’t really matter this time.