Europa League Quarter-Final Second-Leg

SLAVIA PRAGUE 0
ARSENAL 4 (Pepe 18, Lacazette 21 pen, 77, Saka 24)
Arsenal win 5-1 on aggregate

THE stats will tell you that Unai Emery won more games, while pundits and former Arsenal players will tell you that under Mikel Arteta a once rudderless club is slowly starting to rediscover its purpose.

Supporters will now get to see with their own eyes which of these two men really is achieving more on the pitch after the ghost of Arsenal’s past – albeit only briefly – was paired against the present in the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were sensational as the Gunners punished Slavia Prague tonight (Thursday), romping to a 4-0 victory at the Sinobo Stadium, and a 5-1 win on aggregate. Their reward is a final four clash against Villarreal, managed, of course, by former Arsenal boss Emery.

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult test for the inexperienced Arteta, taking on a master tactician who knows everything there is to know about winning the Europa League.

Emery won the competition three years in a row with Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Even in his short 18-month spell in charge at the Emirates he guided Arsenal to the final.

Arteta is well aware of what is waiting for him in the opposing dugout. “There is still a lot to do and things we can improve on, but we have a real desire to improve and be better every day,” insisted the Spaniard. “The semi-final will be really tough, Emery is probably the most successful manager in this competition.”

If Arteta needed a shot in the arm he certainly got it as Saka and Smith Rowe took what was meant to be a cagey, nervy night in Prague and turned it into an exhibition match, showcasing the young talent that could well restore Arsenal’s past glories.

The Gunners thought that they had made the perfect start when they scored a vital away goal inside the opening 15 minutes.

Saka’s rasping shot was turned on to the post by goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar, and Smith Rowe reacted quickest to side-foot the rebound into the empty net.

However, it looked like it was going to be one of those nights as it emerged that VAR was checking for an offside. Without even getting to see a replay the goal was ruled out, and the celebrations silenced.

But it wasn’t going to be one of those nights, far from it.

Minutes later Arteta’s side did have the lead. Smith Rowe showed wonderfully quick feet as he danced into the box and slipped the ball to Nicolas Pepe, who tip-toed closer and closer to the goal before smashing a shot past Kolar.

Unlike in the 1-1 draw at the Emirates a week ago, this time Arsenal went for the jugular and were ruthless in front of goal. They quickly went 2-0 up after Saka was brought down in the box, giving Alexandre Lacazette the chance to nonchalantly send the goalkeeper the wrong way from the penalty spot.

It was to get even better as Saka again wriggled in off the right flank, skipped past a couple of defenders and drilled his shot in at the near post to score a third goal for the visitors in six blistering minutes.

Arsenal continued to press in the second half, albeit sparingly. And they put the icing on the cake on 77 minutes when Lacazette grabbed his second of the game. Collecting a pass from Pepe, the French forward took all the time he needed, even rolling the ball under his foot and away from a defender, before firing beyond Kolar.

Arteta purred: “We looked a threat all the time. I really like the reaction of the team to the goal being disallowed. We scored some great goals, and the clean sheet is important as well.

“It is a really important win in a crucial moment. We won in a convincing way, so credit to the players.”

Slavia Prague: Kolar, Bah (Visinsky, 45), Holes, Zima, Boril (Oscar, 45), Hromada (Masopust, 45), Sevcik, Provod, Stanciu (Lingr, 45), Olayinka, Kuchta (Tecl, 71)
Substitutes not used: Stejskal, Kovar, Sima, Traore

Arsenal: Leno, Chambers, Holding, Mari, Xhaka, Partey (Cedric Soares, 79), Ceballos, Saka (Martinelli, 79), Smith Rowe (Elneny, 67), Pepe (Balogun, 88), Lacazette (Nketiah, 79)
Substitutes not used: Ryan, Hillson, Bellerin, Gabriel, Azeez, Nelson, Willian