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| Arsenal players take the knee before their Europa League success against Slavia Prague with Alexandre Lacazette kneeling right before the home side. (Photo credit: Sky Sports) |
Was it ever in doubt? Maybe but Arsenal made light work of their opponents in the Europa League on Thursday night to keep alive the possibility of an all English club final at the end of May.
Arsenal comfortably saw off Slavia Prague to set
up a reunion with Unai Emery’s Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals.
When Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was ruled out of
Arsenal’s Premier League match with Sheffield United owing to illness, not
everyone was buying it. Speculation among fans on social media suggested he
might simply have been left out, or worse still, had fallen out with the manager
Mikel Arteta. After the club’s experience with Mesut Ozil, there is a degree of
paranoia about the prospect of Arsenal ending up with another highly-paid
player frozen out of the squad.
As Arsenal kicked off against Slavia Prague,
however, Aubameyang took to Instagram to reveal he is in hospital receiving
treatment for malaria. That should hopefully silence any further conspiracy
theories. It was a reminder too that footballers are not insulated by their
wealth — they, like everybody else, have personal matters to contend with.
Aubameyang said he contracted the illness while
on international duty with Gabon. Arsenal have had experience with malaria
before — Kolo Toure suffered with it after a trip to the Ivory Coast in 2008.
If Aubameyang is being treated with anti-malarial drugs, it would be reasonable
to expect him to miss at least a week’s training. The Arsenal captain has vowed
he will be “back stronger than ever soon”.
“He’s home. He had two days in hospital to get
the right treatment, but he’s feeling good now,” said Arteta after the match.
“He will need a few days to recover, but he wants to be back as soon as
possible.”
A motivated team
It did not escape attention at Arsenal that
Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela had been found guilty of racially abusing
former Gunner Glen Kamara. Slavia’s strenuous denials through the UEFA
disciplinary process would also have been noted.
Before kick-off, the Slavia Prague team stood,
arms linked, on the edge of the center circle. The Arsenal team chose to take a
knee. Their captain on the night, Lacazette, broke away from his teammates to
kneel just a few feet away from Arsenal’s opponents.
Arsenal, Europa League
It was a statement of intent, a demonstration of
Arsenal’s stance against racism.
“They asked me and the club to take that
initiative,” said Arteta. “They had the right reasons for that, the club was
supportive. I think it was a great gesture.”
That Arsenal’s three-goal scorers were black symbolized their message of equality and opportunity. It was notable too that Lacazette celebrated his excellent second goal with a raised fist.
Hale End boys show their mettle
When Saka and Emile Smith Rowe combine, good
things happen. While Lacazette’s two goals were a major contribution from a
senior player, this victory also owed plenty to the squad’s younger contingent.
In the first leg, Saka regularly got in behind
the opposition full-back but was not clinical enough to make Prague pay. This
time, he had the cool head required to punish any defensive lapse. Smith Rowe,
meanwhile, looked an ideal foil for Lacazette due to his willingness to run
beyond the striker.
It was also a boost to see Folarin Balogun given
an opportunity from the bench. The young striker is expected to sign a new
four-year deal with the club soon.
Coping without Tierney
Arteta kept the same back four who had ended the
long wait for a clean sheet against Sheffield United. That meant persisting
with a central defensive pairing of Rob Holding and Pablo Mari, who have now
won five of their six games together.
Calum Chambers played at right-back. Although he
has played in four of the last five Premier League games, his selection for
this crucial fixture was effectively a promotion. The manner in which he broke
forward to create Saka’s goal suggested a player growing in confidence.
Arsenal, Calum Chambers
On the left-hand side, Arteta stuck with Granit
Xhaka, with Dani Ceballos drifting wide to support the Swiss international.
When Arsenal lost Kieran Tierney to injury, it was a considerable blow — the
Scotsman’s driving runs and swinging crosses have been integral to their
approach. However, there are now signs Arsenal are adapting to playing without
him. Xhaka’s ball to release Pepe down the left-hand side in the build-up to
Arsenal’s fourth goal showed there is a degree of variety in how Arsenal attack
that flank.
Productive Pepe
Until now, Pepe has suffered the misfortune of
some of his finest moments in an Arsenal shirt being overshadowed by
disappointment. For example, he scored an outstanding goal at Brighton last
season, only for the team to lose the game. In the first leg of this tie, he
broke the deadlock only for Arsenal to concede a late equalizer.
This time, at last, his contribution will be savored.
He showed excellent footwork and composure to open the scoring, before setting
up Lacazette for the fourth. No player in the competition has been involved in
more Europa League goals than Nicolas Pepe (nine — five goals, four assists).
Over the last two seasons, Pepe now has 12 Europa League goal involvements — a
tally matched only by Saka.
