Arsenal News: Unai Emery team beat BATE to make its first comeback in Europe for nine years



[ad_1]

The Gunners have finally been able to get rid of an unwanted continental hoodoo and complete their first consecutive victory for nearly a decade.

Arsenal has qualified for the second round of the Europa League for the second consecutive season with a 3 to 1 total win over BATE on Thursday, while they were coming out of nine-year Europe.

The result was the first time since they eliminated Porto from the Champions League 16 in 2010, as the Gunners managed to reverse a first-leg defeat in a two-legged continental match.

It took only four minutes for the Gunners to open the scoring against BATE after Pierre-Emerick defender Aubameyang was returned by defender Zakhar Volkov for a goal against his side.

Publisher's choice

Arsenal's first goal was the club's fastest in European competition since Lukas Podolski scored against Galatasaray (two minutes and a second) in the Champions League in December 2014.

Shkodran Mustafi won 2-0 just before half-time, returning from the corner by Granit Xhaka in the 39th minute.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos, substitute, then added the third hour of play to ensure Arsenal's place in Friday's draw.

The Greek international has scored 13 goals among the substitutes of all competitions this season, which is more than any other Premier League team.

The match was also Arsenal 's third away game at the Emirates Stadium in European competition, a feat they had not accomplished since April 2009.

At that time, the Gunners had six consecutive shutouts at home in European competition. The race eventually ended in a defeat in the Champions League semifinal against Manchester United.

Emery not only has the talent of interesting substitutes, but he has also extended his already impressive European record with Thursday's win.

The article continues below

The Spaniard has just lost one of his last 17 home games in the Europa League (W15, D1, L1). His previous Sevilla team sank 1-2 against the Athletic Club in the first leg of the 2015-16 quarterfinals.

He led the La Liga club to three consecutive wins in the Europa League during his stay there. He now remains in the race to add a fourth to his collection with Arsenal this season.

Only Giovanni Trapattoni, former director of Juventus, has won the second European trophy as many times as Emery.

[ad_2]
Source link