3 things we learned from the UEFA Europa League semifinal first leg

The two London clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea, did well in the first legs of the UEFA Europa League semifinals yesterday to take a significant step towards setting up a clash in the final. Arsenal, who have never won the Champions League or the Europa League, beat Valencia 3-1 at the Emirates, while Chelsea drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt in Frankfurt.

The second leg is still remaining, but the first leg results have gone in favour of the two English clubs. Neither Arsenal nor Chelsea is certain to finish in the top 4 of the Premier League, and therefore winning the Europa League might enable either of them to take part in next season’s Champions League.

Therefore, it would be an absorbing tie, should both of them make the final of this season’s Europa League.

We now take a look at three things we learned from the semifinal matchups.

#1 Lacazette and Aubameyang again proved to be effective for Arsenal

Arsenal started with a 3-5-2 formation last night, and both their forwards, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, performed creditably. Laczazette scored a brace and Aubameyang netted another as Arsenal proved to be too strong for Valencia.

Lacazette scored the first goal from Aubameyang’s pass by slotting the ball into an empty net. It was his 17th goal of the season, and he again proved to be decisive for Arsenal. He again scored from a Granit Xhaka cross in the 25th minute and took his tally of goals this season to 18.

Auba then scored in the second half by volleying in a cross from Sead Kolasinac and notched his 25th goal of the season. Both forwards are proving to be useful for Arsenal, and Unai Emery has duly pinned his hopes on both of them helping register Arsenal’s maiden title triumph in the Europa League.