Arsenal secured what manager Mikel Arteta called an “important win in a crucial moment” as they impressively swept aside Slavia Prague to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
The Gunners produced one of their best performances of the campaign to turn a potentially difficult night into a fine away victory.
With the tie evenly poised at 1-1, they scored three goals in the opening 24 minutes and had another ruled out by the video assistant referee – all-but ending the contest in the opening period.
It kept alive their hopes winning the competition – and with it their only realistic chance of European football next season.
“The boys were really at it from the start,” Arteta said. “We won in a convincing way, so credit to the players.”
Nicolas Pepe squeezed home at the near post to open the scoring in the 18th minute before Alexandre Lacazette converted a penalty three minutes later following a foul on Bukayo Saka.
Saka coolly swept in the third as Arsenal tore their Czech opponents apart once more.
Arteta’s side controlled the game expertly thereafter and Lacazette smashed his second low into the net in the latter stages.
The Gunners will face Villarreal – managed by former Arsenal boss Unai Emery – in the last four.
Manchester United meet Roma in the other semi-final after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side comfortably saw off Granada.
Reaction to Arsenal’s victory over Slavia PragueListen to the latest Football Daily podcastRampant Arsenal keep season goingThis was Arsenal’s biggest game remaining this season.
Had they lost, their campaign would have effectively been over. Instead they breathed life into its final two months.
Their wastefulness in the first leg left the tie in the balance but in Prague, where their hosts had not lost for more than a year, they were supremely clinical.
Arsenal’s two-goal scorer Lacazette stared directly at the Slavia Prague’s players while taking the knee before kick-off. The Slavia players stood while the visiting side made the anti-racism gestureSpurred on by the guile and energy of Emile Smith Rowe, they scored three goals from five first-half shots – doing so without their captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who revealed shortly before kick-off he has contracted malaria.
Slavia had already knocked Leicester and Rangers out of this year’s competition but at half-time they resorted to substituting four key players, seemingly an acceptance the tie was over.
It is 25 years since Arsenal, currently ninth in the league, failed to qualify for Europe and this win ensured they can extend that run.
A meeting with Emery, who took Arsenal to the Europa League final in 2019 and won the tournament three times as manager of Sevilla, awaits on 29 April.
“It will be really tough and Unai Emery is probably the most successful manager in this competition,” Arteta told BT Sport.
“We started really well and were aggressive in our high press.
“We looked a threat all the time. I really like the reaction of the team to the goal being disallowed.”
Arsenal’s best performance of the season?It is little surprise that this performance came with Smith Rowe and Saka – the two shining lights of Arsenal’s inconsistent season – reunited in the attacking line.
Smith Rowe, a doubt for the game with an ankle injury that kept him out of the weekend’s win over Sheffield United, had put Arsenal ahead in the 14th minute when he turned in the rebound after Saka’s rasping shot was turned on to the post but he was narrowly judged to be offside.
It was the 20-year-old playmaker, however, who showed delightful feet to tee up Pepe for the opener moments later.
He then played in Saka whose driving run was unfairly halted by the sliding Jakub Hromada, resulting in the second goal from the penalty spot.
Why Saka could be a future Arsenal captainSaka took the spotlight soon after, driving off his flank once more and finding the bottom corner while Lacazette was clinical with his spot-kick and assured second-half finish.
Pepe, too, a player often criticised during his time at Arsenal, impressed on the left. He now has five goals and four assists in this year’s competition.
It will also please Arteta how Arsenal managed the game with a defensive solidity not seen at times this season.
“It was fantastic from start to finish,” Saka told BT Sport.
“It shows everyone how exciting we can be, when we play like this it is so amazing to be involved in.”
Lacazette loving the Europa League – the best statsArsenal have reached the semi-finals of European competition for the 10th time (including Fairs Cup), with the Gunners getting to the last four in three of their four Europa League campaigns.Slavia Prague suffered their first home defeat in their last seven European games (W3 D3), conceding more goals in this game (4) than in the previous six on home soil (3).Arsenal have scored 3+ goals in four consecutive away games in all competitions for the first time since December 1932 (5 games).Arsenal kept a clean sheet in a European game for the first time in eight games, since a 3-0 away win over Molde in the Europa League in November 2020.Nicolas Pepe has been directly involved in nine goals in his 10 starts for Arsenal in the Europa League (4 goals, 5 assists).Emile Smith Rowe registered his seventh assist in all competitions this season, the joint-most of any Arsenal player in 2020-21 (level with Willian).Only Radamel Falcao (20) and Kevin Gameiro (19) have scored more Europa League knockout stage goals than Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette (18). Alexandre Lacazette has scored 2+ goals in consecutive games in all competitions for the first time for any club since his last three appearances for Lyon in May 2017.With four goals to his name, Bukayo Saka is now Arsenal’s joint-top teenage scorer in major European competition, level with Charlie George and Ray Kennedy.What’s next?Arsenal return to Premier League action on Sunday against Fulham at Emirates Stadium (13:30 BST kick-off).
Player of the match
SakaBukayo Saka
with an average of 8.54
Slavia PragueSquad number1Player nameKolar
Squad number5Player nameBah
Squad number3Player nameHoles
Squad number9Player nameOladeji Olayinka
Squad number16Player nameKuchta
Squad number7Player nameStanciu
Squad number6Player nameZima
Squad number23Player nameSevcik
Squad number18Player nameBoril
Squad number17Player nameProvod
Squad number25Player nameHromada
Squad number41Player nameVišinský
Squad number19Player nameDorley
Squad number28Player nameMasopust
Squad number32Player nameLingr
Squad number11Player nameTecl
ArsenalSquad number7Player nameSaka
Squad number32Player nameSmith Rowe
Squad number9Player nameLacazette
Squad number19Player namePépé
Squad number35Player nameGabriel Martinelli
Squad number21Player nameChambers
Squad number18Player namePartey
Squad number16Player nameHolding
Squad number34Player nameXhaka
Squad number8Player nameDani Ceballos
Squad number22Player nameMarí
Squad number38Player nameBalogun
Squad number17Player nameCédric Soares
Squad number1Player nameLeno
Squad number25Player nameMohamed Elneny
Squad number30Player nameNketiah
Line-upsSlavia PragueFormation 4-1-2-1-2
1Kolar
5Bah3Holes6Zima18Boril
25Hromada
23Sevcik17Provod
7Stanciu
9Oladeji Olayinka16Kuchta
1Kolar5BahSubstituted forVišinskýat 45’minutes3Holes6Zima18BorilSubstituted forDorleyat 45’minutes25HromadaBooked at 20minsSubstituted forMasopustat 45’minutes23Sevcik17Provod7StanciuSubstituted forLingrat 45’minutes9Oladeji OlayinkaBooked at 63mins16KuchtaSubstituted forTeclat 71’minutesSubstitutes11Tecl12Sima13Stejskal19Dorley27Traore28Masopust31Kovar32Lingr41VišinskýArsenalFormation 4-2-3-1
1Leno
21Chambers16Holding22Marí34Xhaka
18Partey8Ceballos
7Saka32Smith Rowe19Pépé
9Lacazette
1Leno21Chambers16Holding22Marí34Xhaka18ParteySubstituted forCédric Soaresat 79’minutes8Ceballos7SakaSubstituted forMartinelliat 79’minutesBooked at 82mins32Smith RoweSubstituted forElnenyat 67’minutes19PépéSubstituted forBalogunat 88’minutes9LacazetteSubstituted forNketiahat 79’minutesSubstitutes2Bellerín6Gabriel12Willian17Cédric Soares24Nelson25Elneny30Nketiah33Ryan35Martinelli38Balogun45Hillson66AzeezLive TextMatch ends, Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 4.
Second Half ends, Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 4.
Foul by Stanislav Tecl (Slavia Prague).
Pablo Marí (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Arsenal. Folarin Balogun replaces Nicolas Pépé.
Attempt missed. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Dani Ceballos.
Attempt blocked. Ondrej Lingr (Slavia Prague) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Tomás Holes.
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Lukas Masopust (Slavia Prague) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal).
Substitution, Arsenal. Cédric Soares replaces Thomas Partey.
Substitution, Arsenal. Eddie Nketiah replaces Alexandre Lacazette.
Substitution, Arsenal. Gabriel Martinelli replaces Bukayo Saka.
Goal! Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 4. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Nicolas Pépé.
Offside, Arsenal. Bukayo Saka tries a through ball, but Mohamed Elneny is caught offside.
Foul by Lukas Masopust (Slavia Prague).
Dani Ceballos (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Slavia Prague. Stanislav Tecl replaces Jan Kuchta.
Foul by Jan Kuchta (Slavia Prague).
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