Molde 0-3 Arsenal | Hits & Flops | UEL 2020/21
Arsenal booked their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League with a comfortable 3-0 win over Norwegian side Molde. Goals from Nicolas Pepe, Reiss Nelson and Folarin Balogun were enough to ensure that the Gunners’ 100% record in the group stage remained intact.
Mikel Arteta’s men can now rest assured knowing their next two games are write-offs in the middle of a busy winter schedule.
Here are the hits and flops from Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Molde.
#5 Hit: Joe Willock (Arsenal)
Joe Willock once again showed everyone why he is a part of Mikel Arteta’s plans this season. The 21-year-old put in another dominant performance for Arsenal on Thursday night, picking up 2 assists in the process.
In a pivot with Granit Xhaka, the youngster acted as the spare man in attack, making several runs into the box. His pace and power were too much for Molde to handle and his decision-making was lightning quick.
Overall, Willock completed 93% of his passes, won 5 duels and created 2 chances. With Thomas Partey still unavailable, the youngster may have played his way into Arsenal's starting XI in the game against Wolves on Sunday.
#4 Flop: Birk Risa (Molde)
Up against an inspired Nicolas Pepe, the Molde left-back didn't really stand a chance from the first minute. Pepe constantly ran at him and the Norwegian didn’t have a response for the Frenchman.
The 22-year-old had a torrid game and was dribbled past 4 times, lost out on 5 duels and completed only 69% of his passes. The number of times he let Pepe cut in and shoot from his left foot was criminal and, eventually, his team were punished for it.