Europa League: 3 reasons why Arsenal won the game against Napoli
Arsenal wasted no time is getting their intent shown as they started attacking right from the minute the first whistle was blown. The Gunners had a few opportunities prior to Aaron Ramsey's opener which involved Alexandre Lacazette and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the buildup. Ramsey's goal set the tone right for the match as his side continued to attack.
Soon after, Lucas Torreira created the second goal for the Gunners. His shot meant for the right corner of the goal deflected off Koulidao Koulibaly's foot and went past the keeper, Alex Meret.
Napoli gradually increased the pressure on Arsenal as both sides approached half-time. They started as the stronger side too after the break, with a strong desire to get an away goal. If not for Arsenal's tight and stable defence line, the visitors could have scored.
Of course, the job is far from done when one thinks about Arsenal's horrible away form. The Gunners could have scored more than just two goals. Anything could happen in Italy, but Arsenal are one foot into the semi-finals of the Europa League. Here are three reasons why the Gunners beat the visitors comfortably.
#3 Early goals from Arsenal
Early goals from Ramsey and a Koulibaly own goal put Napoli under a huge amount of pressure. Even after their two goals, Unai Emery's side had so many more chances to score but all were denied by Meret.
After not scoring in the weekend game against Everton, their sudden attacking spirit might have motivated everyone to get forward more often, limiting the chances that the Italian side has. The first-half display from Arsenal was a stark difference to how they performed at Goodison Park.
Surely on Napoli's day, they would have been able to overcome the deficit. At the same time, with Carlo Ancelotti's experience of guiding Bayern Munich to 5-1 victories in consecutive meetings, he would certainly have some tactics in mind against the Gunners. However, the Serie A side failed to capitalise on their chances.