Our 3️⃣ points as Arsenal cruise past Slavia with first-half blitz | OneFootball

Arsenal secured their place in the Europa League semi-finals with a brilliant 4-0 away win over Slavia Prague.

Goals from Nicolas Pépé, Bukayo Saka and two from Alexandre Lacazette capped off an impressive victory.

Here are three points we took from the game …

That’s the way

Slavia Prague deserve credit for their Europa League campaign this season. After all, they have beaten Rangers and Leicester, and deserved their quarter final spot.

But Arsenal approached the first leg with fear, conservatism and that stemmed from Arteta with his tactics and team selection. He started Willian for goodness sake.

This was so much better. Partey as the one-man midfield, Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pépé – proper wide men – carrying threat and Emile Smith Rowe finding dangerous pockets.

They treated Slavia for what they are, a vastly inferior side, and that attitude should follow them into the finale of this season. Bravery will earn Arteta plenty more credit.

Tierney’s replacement?

Arsenal gambled with the health of Kieran Tierney after not signing a back-up left back in January. So of course he got injured and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Cédric – their most natural replacement – featured against Liverpool and looked completely uncomfortable, and so did the eleven with their attacking balance destroyed.

Granit Xhaka sounds exactly like somebody you wouldn’t want at left back. He is slow on the turn, clumsy and does not possess the stamina to bomb up and down all game.

But credit him and Mikel Arteta. They altered his role, increased his influence within the build up and put Dani Ceballos on that side to help out. It works and it should stay.

Old friends meet again

It was always going to be like this, wasn’t it? Arsenal now face Villarreal in the semi final and who stands in their way? It’s only Unai Emery.

Emery started well in North London but things soured quickly and he was rightly sacked after a terrible run of form, with Arteta eventually being hired as his replacement.

And now everybody has a point to prove. Arteta will want to prove his club right, Emery will want to prove the club wrong, and all those players who struggled under the previous regime? Narrative!