BEVERLY HILLS, March 09, (THEWILL) – Arsenal put their recent problems to one side as a polished performance at fallen giants AC Milan gave them the upper hand in their Europa League last-16 tie as they won 2 nil.
The Gunners arrived at the San Siro at arguably the lowest point of manager Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign, yet responded to a run of four straight defeats with a confident and controlled display against their Italian hosts.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first goal for the club put the Premier League side ahead, cutting in from the left to fire in with the aid of a deflection off Milan skipper Leonardo Bonucci.
Aaron Ramsey deservedly doubled their lead before half-time, collecting Mesut Ozil’s piercing pass through the centre of Milan’s defence to round keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and tap in.
Milan tried to up the tempo after the break, wasting a clear early chance to pull one back when Giacomo Bonaventura spooned over the bar.
But Arsenal were largely unruffled from then on, limiting the home side to half chances with a solid defensive effort.
The two away goals now make the Gunners firm favourites to reach the quarter-finals after next Thursday’s second leg at Emirates Stadium.
“Overall it is important to win, but it is not qualification. We have to finish the job at home. I am happy with the spirit and response we gave,” said Wenger.
“We were not in a position to take risks, but we could not be too cautious as you lose fluidity. We defended with resilience until the end.”
Arsenal earned their first win in the opening leg of a last-16 European tie since February 2011 (2-1 v Barcelona in the Champions League).
The Gunners are the first side to beat AC Milan at the San Siro in the Europa League/Uefa Cup since February 2002. The Italians had gone 10 games without losing between these defeats.
Arsenal’s victory ended a run of 13 games without defeat for AC Milan, with their previous loss before this coming back in December against Atalanta in Serie A.
Other Europa league results:
Lokomotiv Moscow 0 – 3 Atlético Madrid
Athletic Bilbao 1 – 3 Marseille
Dynamo Kiev 2 – 2 Lazio
Viktoria Plzen 0 – 2 Sporting Lisbon
Zenit St Petersburg 1 – 2 RB Leipzig
FC Red Bull Salzburg 2 – 1 Borussia Dortmund
Lyon 1 – 0 CSKA Moscow
