[ad_1]
Arsenal will head firmly to Napoli next week after beating Partenopei 2-0 at Emirates on Thursday night.
A curved arrival of Aaron Ramsay and a goal from Kalidou Koulibaly were enough to distinguish a team from Naples who were struggling to qualify for this first leg in the quarter-finals.
Unai Emery's men still looked dangerous, clearing their way in the visitors' defense, and could have won the match even more by creating plenty of goal chances.
The Spaniard hopes that these missed opportunities will not come back to haunt his team during his trip to Italy for the return match next week. It was an unusual performance in Naples, they only really got going in the second half and they will look to reverse the home situation in the next stage.
Here is our breakdown of the game
ARSENAL
Key discussion point
When Lucas Torreira won the ball in the middle of the Napoli field and came close to the back defense, many Arsenal supporters could have expected Uruguayan to pbad the ball to one of his offensive teammates.
However, the small midfielder took his left foot and led the ball to the goal.
His shot did not seem to bother Alex Meret in Napoli's goal, or even be dismissed. That was until Kalidou Koulibaly, trying to block the shot, deflected the ball past Meret, his foot lost and desperate, in the Napoli net.
It was a disappointing goal to concede, and that affected Napoli's performance for the rest of the half-time, as they seemed to want to enter at half-time without conceding.
Player ranking
From XI: Cech (7); Maitland-Niles (6), Papastathopoulos (6), Koscielny (7), Monreal (7), Kolasinac (6); Ramsay (9) *, Torreira (8), Ozil (7); Aubameyang (6), Lacazette (6)
substitutions: Iwobi (6), Mkhitaryan (6), Elneny (6)
Man of stars
Aaron Ramsey led the show for Arsenal against Napoli. He opened the scoring with a fine shot in the 15th minute, disrupting Napoli's defense with his deep penetrating points and his liaison game with his teammates.
The Welshman, who was due to travel to Turin this summer, showed Arsenal fans what they would miss when he left and also stressed the important role he played for the gunners. Ramsay was at the heart of all Arsenal attacks, either with the ball at his feet, or by dragging the Napoli players out of their position and creating space for his teammates.
He missed some good chances in the second half and, if he had scored those, he might have killed the tie.
NAPOLI
Key discussion point
Carlo Ancelotti's decision to play against Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne while the two strikers from Napoli testified to the intention of the Italian boss to try to stretch Arsenal's defense with the l & # 39; 39, pace of his forehead Men.
However, Napoli did not manage to do so, instead seeking to play the ball off and cross it.
Mertens and Insigne are not giants, and Partenopei might have been better served by Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik, who started the match as Mertens and Insigne faced off against the 25-year-old. This could have caused more problems to Arsenal's defense and may have given more chances to attack.
When Milik was introduced in the second half, Naples seemed more dangerous and they began to stretch Arsenal's defense. If it had started, the end result could have been different.
Player ranking
From XI: Meret (8); Hysaj (6), Maksimovic (6), Koulibaly (6), Rui (5); Callejon (6), Allan (6), Fabian (6), Zielinski (7); Badge (7), Mertens (5)
substitutions: Milik (6), Ounas (6), Younes (5)
Man of stars
Despite two goals conceded, Alex Meret made a good performance between the two innings for Napoli at Emirates. The 22-year-old Italian goalkeeper has refused Arsenal several times, keeping the score close at hand, making it unlikely that Napoli will overturn this insurmountable result.
He will have to be in a similar form during the return match, knowing that Arsenal will know that an away goal could allow them to qualify for the semi-finals at the expense of Partenopei.
Look to the front
Arsenal will face Watford on Monday in their next game as the Champions League qualifier continues in the Premier League. Unai Emery will have a decision to make regarding the name of the player, his team traveling to Naples three days later for the return match against Partenopei.
Napoli on the other hand play a day earlier Sunday while they face Chievo in the series A. Carlo Ancelotti will want to put more light of day between his side and Enter in third and will see this as an opportunity for three points.
Source link
