Arsenal had produced a great performance against the Swedish side Ostersunds in the first leg of the knockout stage of Europa League in Sweden. They have thrashed the Swedish side with an emphatic margin of 3-0 and the next leg will occur at The Emirates Stadium where the Gunners will be considered as hot favourites to win the tie and qualify for the next round.
Arsene Wenger will be immensely happy for his team’s performance in an away match with an apparently unknown opponent. The task was not really easy for the men in Arsenal colours. They had to come back from the shock of 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby in Premier League just a few days ago. But after all they had managed to stand tall against their opponent in their European competition. The only realistic chance of winning a silverware this season is only remaining in the Europa League. The chances of finishing in the top four positions in the League Table in Premier League is not looking very likely for the Gunners. So the main focus of Arsene Wenger and his boys will now be on the Europa League.
First have a glance how the teams have shaped up for the big occasion.
Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Hector Bellerin; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Mohamed Elneny; Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan; Danny Welbeck.
Ostersunds XI (4-4-2): Aly Keita; Dennis Widgren, Tom Pettersson, Sotiris Papagiannopoulos, Ronald Mukiibi; Ken Sema, Brwa Nouri, Samuel Mensah, Curtis Edwards; Alhaji Gero, Saman Ghoddos.
The talking points of the Match are :
1. Monreal And Ozil Were Named In The Scoresheet For The Gunners :
Nacho Monreal is continuing his good form for the Gunners in the role of a Goal scorer. The first goal of Arsenal came from a corner where Iwobi’s shot was saved by the opponent’s Goalkeeper but Monreal committed no mistake to tap the ball into the Goal from the rebound. In the time of the third Goal of Arsenal it was a result of great understanding between Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil. Mesut Ozil passed the ball to Mkhitaryan and Mkhitaryan again gave Ozil the ball back in the Penalty box. Ozil’s low and measured shot was enough for the Gunners to take a 3-0 lead in this important clash. After this win with a huge margin Arsene Wenger could opt for a whole change in the starting line up in the second leg.
2. It Was Not A Day For Ostersunds :
The day was not written for the home side. One own goal and the Penalty miss at the dying moments of the match is clearly suggesting that. They were looking unorganized defensively at the beginning of the match. After that they created some chances but were unable to convert them into Goals.
3. Arsenal Kept A Clean Sheet :
It was an away game for Arsenal and the fans will be happy to see their side keeping a clean sheet in this circumstances. David Ospina was brilliant under the bar for the Gunners and saved a Penalty in the last moment of the match which ensured the clean sheet for Arsenal.
