Aubameyang to the rescue as Arsenal narrowly avoid Europa League exit
Date published: Thursday 25th February 2021 7:48 - Samuel Bannister
Arsenal survived a nervous scare to beat Benfica 3-2, enough for them to reach the Europa League Round of 16 with a 4-3 aggregate win.
Arsenal went into the game with a slight advantage after getting an away goal
A goalless draw would have been enough to see them through, but even so, they were quickly on the hunt for a first goal.
The breakthrough came in the 21st minute, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang latched onto a clever pass from Bukayo Saka before expertly dinking the ball over the keeper.
Late Aubameyang goal steers Arsenal through in Europa League apnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from apnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Defeat and Arsenal’s season was effectively over by March. Win and the chance of a trophy and qualification for the Champions League remained.
There was no real room for error for the Gunners following the 1-1 draw in the first leg and memories of last season’s shock defeat by Olympiacos at this stage of the competition were fresh in everyone’s minds before kick-off.
And, trailing 2-1 with half an hour remaining, they once again found themselves on the edge of disaster.
But after Kieran Tierney found an equaliser, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stepped up with just three minutes remaining to keep Arsenal’s season alive in the most dramatic of fashion.
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Pizzi became the leading goalscorer in the competition this season with seven when he put Benfica in front from the penalty spot early in the second half after Emile Smith Rowe handled.
Arsenal only had themselves to blame for being behind after some poor finishing, but Saka levelled just over two minutes after Pizzi struck at the neutral venue in Rome on Friday morning (AEDT).
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was particularly wasteful, but the Gunners have the edge ahead of the second leg at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens next week.
Arsenal were unchanged for the first time since September 2018 and Aubameyang, who scored a hat-trick in the win over Leeds United on Sunday, inexplicably missed a glorious chance to put them in front 17 minutes in.
Benfica 1 - 1 Arsenal: Arsenal y Benfica dejan todo abierto para la vuelta en un buen partido de Odegaard marca.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from marca.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.