Slavia Prague 0 - 4 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points as Gunners advance into the semi-finals | UEFA Europa League 2020-21
After conceding a late away goal against Slavia Prague last week, Arsenal needed to score in this fixture to ensure they had a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League competition.
Within the opening 25 minutes, the Gunners put the ball in the back of the net four times.
Unfortunately, Emile Smith Rowe's effort was ruled out for an offside but his teammates Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka made no mistake by scoring three vital away goals in the first half.
Jindrich Trpisovsky tried to shake things up by introducing four substitutes after the break but his efforts were futile. The home team simply could not find a way past the North London club.
Subsequently, Lacazette scored his second of the night to seal the result for the Gunners. With a 5-1 win on aggregate, Arsenal qualify for the semi-finals of the Europa League and here are five talking points from the match.
#5 Arsenal qualify for the semi-final without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
For the past couple of days, Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was said to be down with the flu by manager Mikel Arteta.
However, minutes before kickoff, the player himself confirmed that he had been in the hospital after coming down with malaria while on international duty with Gabon.
Without Aubameyang in the last two games, Arsenal have won at Bramall Lane for the first time since 1993 and condemned Slavia Prague to their first home defeat of the season.
Although Aubameyang does not seem to be missed at the moment, Arteta will surely hope that his captain returns to full fitness soon ahead of some crucial Premier League and Europa League games.
#4 Defensive partnership between Rob Holding and Pablo Mari
It was yet another clean sheet and victory for Arsenal's centre-back pairing of Rob Holding and Pablo Mari. The two defenders have played together just six times this season but already, fans can feel that there is a connection between the two.
Throughout the game, they offered stability at the back and complemented each other. Against a team like Slavia Prague who were on a 33-match unbeaten streak at home, Arteta made the right decision to name the duo in the starting lineup.
Costing just €8 million, Mari is certainly a worthy signing that Arsenal have made.