Europa League: Arsenal Finish Off AC Milan At The Emirates With Little Help From Dodgy Danny Welbeck Penalty (Photos & Video)

Chris Wright

15th, March 2018

2 Comments

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Two goals from Danny Welbeck saw Arsenal go striding into the quarter-finals of the Europa League after finishing off a lacklustre AC Milan side at the Emirates.

The Gunners carried a commanding 2-0 lead over from the first leg in the San Siro, which was subsequently increasing to 5-1 by the end of the second.

After a reasonably comfortable start to the first half, Arsene Wenger’s side were put on edge 10 minutes before the interval when Hakan Calhanoglu drove a low shot past the despairing fingertips of David Ospina from the edge of the area.

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However, the anxiety soon dissipated just a few minutes later when Danny Welbeck cheated a penalty out of the seemingly oblivious match officials.

Indeed, the striker lolloped into the area and, in the absence of a better idea, went rag-dolling to the floor despite there being clear daylight between himself and marker Ricardo Rodriguez.

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Never the less, referee Jonas Erikssen (a multi-millionaire who has admitted he “referees for fun”) pointed to the spot, with Welbeck miraculously recovering to convert the ensuing chance.

Abysmal, no? Oddly, Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso didn’t appear to be overly phased…

Anyway, with the second half underway and Arsenal back on the front foot, Granit Xhaka restored the home side’s lead on the night in the 71st minute.

The Swiss midfielder’s 20-yard daisy-strimmer caught Gianluigi Donnarumma cold, with Milan’s prodigious teenage goalkeeper deflecting the ball awkwardly into his own net…

With just a few minutes left, Welbeck pounced again to put things beyond doubt when he nodded home a rebound from close range to score his second and Arsenal’s fifth goal of the tie.

As such, the Gunners are into a European quarter-final for the first time in eight years by virtue of winning both legs of a knockout tie for the first time since 2004.

Crisis? What crisis?

Posted in Arsenal, Europa League, Videos

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2 Comments

  1. Steve says:

    Pathetic. VAR can’t come soon enough.

  2. Comfy Chair says:

    “The Gunners are into a European quarter-final for the first time in eight years”…but continue to play like shit at home? WTF?

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