Slavia draw with Arsenal to stay alive in Europa League 1 minute read
Sports Desk, Apr 8 (efe-epa).- Days after a 3-0 loss to Liverpool, Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta suffered another disappointment Thursday as the Gunners conceded a late equalizer to Slavia Prague and leave the Europa League quarterfinal tie level at 1-1.
The hosts dominated for long stretches and it looked like job done when Nicolas Pepe broke the goal-less deadlock in the 86th minute, yet Tomas Holes brought Slavia level deep into stoppage time to put the pressure on the Premier League side heading into the second leg in Prague.
Holes earns Slavia Prague precious draw at Arsenal
Reuters | Apr 08, 2021 09:06 PM EDT
Soccer Football - Europa League - Quarter Final First Leg - Arsenal v Slavia Prague - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain (Photo : Alexander Bah and Ondrej Kolar REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)
Slavia Prague boosted their hopes of a first European semi-final since 1996 as Tomas Holes headed a stoppage-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday.
It looked as though substitute Nicolas Pepe s 86th-minute effort had given the hosts a narrow advantage to take to the Czech Republic for next week s second leg.
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It was never going to be as easy as it should have been. Even as Arsenal, wasteful and timid for large parts of this match, looked to have emerged with an important 1-0 win in the first leg of this Europa League quarter-final with Slavia Prague, a spanner in the works came via a 93rd-minute equaliser.
Second-half substitute Nicolas Pepe had given Mikel Arteta a precious lead in the 86th minute, one that should have come earlier but was no less welcome when it finally arrived. But just as it looked like Arsenal had prevented a relentless Slavia Prague from registering an away goal, Tomas Holes’s header at the death put the Czechs in control.
Emmanuel Egobiambu With Agency Report
Updated April 8, 2021
Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel (L) challenges Slavia Prague’s Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima (R) during the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg football match between Arsenal and Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium in London on April 8, 2021. Ian KINGTON / AFP
Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Slavia Prague in a Europa League quarter-final first-leg game at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday, punishing the Gunners who failed to take their chances.
Nicolas Pepe had scored in the 86th minute but the North London side failed to hold on to the lead, slumping in added time.