Arsenal 3-1 AC Milan - 4 key battles that decided the game
Arsenal kept their hope of an unlikely way back into the UEFA Champions League next season, as they beat an inspired AC Milan 3-1 at home and 5-1 on aggregate to proceed to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League.
But what dominated the news was the way in which they won the fixture - Danny Welbeck threw himself to the ground at no apparent sign of contact, and just as Milan was starting to get a foothold on the match at 0-1, Arsenal bounced right back into the contest.
With the fight extinguished unfairly before it even began, Arsenal proceeded to stroll through the rest of the game. In the midst of all this pandemonium, there were a few key battles between players that shaped the course of the fixture.
Here's a look at 4 such important battles that played a part in deciding the game:
#1 Shkodran Mustafi vs Andre Silva
For a large part of this season, it is the defence that has been the cause of Arsenal's undoing and on more than one occasion, Shkodran Mustafi has been the man to blame. On this occasion, however, the German was on top of his game and pulled off a magnificent performance to thwart Milan's attacks.
To be fair, Milan aren't the most attacking side in the world. Despite that, the Arsenal defence broke down the chances created by the Milan midfield - and at the heart of it stood Mustafi. His presence in the air was a deterrent for crosses and his imposing positioning also helped Arsenal shift defence to attack without effort.
Andre Silva, the scorer of the lone goal for Milan on Sunday, against Genoa, was kept largely quiet by the German centre-back. The Portuguese striker's positioning was also woeful on the night, as he found himself repeatedly offside while receiving important passes.