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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Arsenal won an entertaining opening game in Group E.

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Thu 20 Sep 2018 17.20 EDTFirst published on Thu 20 Sep 2018 14.00 EDT
Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring Arsenal’s fourth goal.
Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring Arsenal’s fourth goal. Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images
Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring Arsenal’s fourth goal. Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

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And now we hear from Unai Emery: “We were disappointed with the two goals, because we play well for 90 minutes. We want to do better. We want to go forward and score more goals, but not concede at the back as we did today. It is important to start with victory in this competition, and give chances to many players. And also to gain confidence. We need those players because we are going to play a lot of matches. I want to be competitive in each match.”

Danny Welbeck talks! “I think it was a convincing win, though it was difficult in the first half, because they had a gameplan to sit back and make it difficult. We had to be patient, to implement the combinations, and try to get opportunities to score. And we did, we got a few goals, though it’s very disappointing to concede goals as well. All the lads are enjoying working with Unai Emery, and everyone’s behind his ideas, we’re looking to impose our style of play and keep on getting better. It’s not going to work straight away, but we want to keep on improving.”

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang speaks! “We played well in the first half, and the beginning of the second as well. We scored goals, but we have to improve and not concede as we did in the last minute. I didn’t play the Europa League last year with the guys, so I am really happy to be back in this competition. We want to get to the final. It is good to start with a win.”

So Arsenal start their Europa League campaign with a victory. They started slowly, and could easily have fallen behind in the first half, but after scoring a fine goal on the break seconds later, grew into the match. They were very impressive from that point onwards, at times playing some very entertaining football. A couple of late goals for Vorskla removed some of the shine, but the Ukrainians deserved those consolations, having contributed to a highly enjoyable game. Who needs the Champions League, huh?

FULL TIME: Arsenal 4-2 Vorskla

A millisecond after the ball hit the back of the net, the referee blows for full time! Well that was entertaining.

GOAL! Arsenal 4-2 Vorskla (Sharpar 90+3)

Kolomoets sends Rebenok away down the left. Rebenok pulls the ball back for Sharpar, on the edge of the area. Sharpar unleashes an unstoppable shot into the top left!

90 min: Monreal zips down the left but can’t find anyone in a crowded area with his cross. There will be three extra minutes.

88 min: Guendouzi wins a crunching challenge in midfield, spins and sends Ozil skittering down the left. Ozil loops a ball towards the far post, towards nobody in particular, and it’s cleared out for a corner. From which ...

85 min: Artur dribbles prettily down the left, but having made space for himself can’t find anyone in the middle. Arsenal go up the other end through Ozil, who reaches the byline on the left and cuts back for Smith Rowe. A chance for the young man to shoot, but he hesitates for a split second and his eventual effort is easily blocked.

83 min: Serhichuk drives infield from the right and for a second looks like earning an opportunity to shoot from distance. But Guendouzi harries him out of it.

81 min: A nice burst by Smith Rowe, who dances past a couple of desperate challenges down the left, shimmies his way inside, and nearly sets Welbeck free down the channel. But he puts too much weight on the pass and hollers in frustration. The crowd enjoyed that, though.

80 min: Vorskla continue to press forward, looking for another consolation. The ball’s spooned into the Arsenal box, but Serhichuk can’t get any power on his header, and Leno claims.

GOAL! Arsenal 4-1 Vorskla (Chesnakov 76)

Rebenok’s free kick, basically a corner from the left, is , chipped into the box and cleared by Holding. But that leads to a scrappy scramble on the edge of the area. Chesnakov breaks into the box and lashes a stunner into the top left. Leno had no chance!

75 min: Careca, not that one, replaces an as-yet-unidentified team-mate. He quickly earns a free kick down the left. From which ...

GOAL! Arsenal 4-0 Vorskla (Ozil 74)

Sokratis chips a pass down the right for Lichtsteiner, who enters the area and loops to the far post. Ozil drifts in from the left to meet the ball, and guides it cleverly between two covering defenders with a poke of his studs. In it goes!

Ozil scores number four. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
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73 min: Vorskla are enjoying a bit of possession now, Arsenal’s second-half fire having fizzled out a little with all those substitutions. But they’re not really doing much with it. It’s all very comfortable for Arsenal.

71 min: Sharpar hoicks a long pass down the right for Rebenok, who hares into space. He crosses to Kolomoets in the centre, but the new boy Smith Rowe intercepts with a diving header. Corner, which comes to nothing.

68 min: Chesnakov goes for goal from 45 yards! Give him credit for his sunny optimism. Of course, the preposterously ambitious effort is dragged harmlessly miles left, dribbling out of play as Leno trots across to prepare for a goal kick.

66 min: The very promising Guendouzi ghosts down the middle of the park and slips a cute pass down the inside-left channel for Ozil, who enters the box. Ozil never quite gets a window of opportunity to shoot, though, and eventually dribbles the ball out of play for a goal kick. But that was lovely play from Guendouzi, who created something from a very crowded position.

Ozil attempts to cut one into the area. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
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65 min: Iwobi clears the free kick. He’s been superb. The ball’s looped back into the mixer, though, and Kolomoets nearly meets it with his head, six yards out. Sokratis and Holding crowd him out.

64 min: Monreal clumsily bowls Kulach to the ground as the Vorskla man runs down a cul-de-sac on the right. A free kick and a rare chance to load the Arsenal box.

62 min: The rain’s coming down at the Emirates now. And the wind’s whipping around a little bit too. But the weather isn’t dousing the spirit of the Arsenal fans, who have found their voice. And no wonder: after that sluggish start, their heroes are now playing very well indeed.

60 min: Elneny drags back Kulach, a soft hand on his shoulder. It’s a booking usually, but this game has a training-ground feel now, the result beyond question, and the referee simply can’t be bothered.

58 min: That was Aubameyang’s last act of the evening. His job done, he’s replaced by Ozil. And it’s a double change, because Torreira is off to rest that sore ankle, Guendouzi coming on in his place. Seconds later, Mkhitaryan Maradonas his way down the inside-right channel, but kicks the turf as he looks to end the dribble with a goal. That would have been very pretty.

GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Vorskla (Aubameyang 56)

And here’s another. Mkhitaryan drives down the middle and looks for a one-two with Aubameyang. But he doesn’t get the pass back. Instead, Aubameyang nips the ball past Artur, takes a step to the right, and thrashes it into the bottom right from the edge of the box!

Aubameyang scores The Gunners third. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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55 min: Mkhitaryan rolls a ball down the right in the hope of releasing Aubameyang. There’s too much juice on the pass, and Shust is able to race to the edge of his area to claim. But Arsenal are looking dangerous every time they go forward now.

54 min: Sharpar slips a pass down the left for Rebenok, who briefly looks like causing Sokratis a problem. But the defender sticks to his task and slide-tackles the ball away from the marauding winger. He’s made a couple of big, timely challenges tonight.

52 min: Arsenal look a totally different proposition since the break. Well, since the opening goal, I guess. They’re snapping into challenges now, pressing Vorskla hard, first to everything. Such a difference to their early passivity. Iwobi makes good down the left and loops a cross towards Aubameyang, who should really get something on target at the far post but gets his body shape all wrong and karate-kicks an effort over the bar.

50 min: It should be 3-0. Aubameyang races into acres down the left, latching onto a poor defensive backwards header. He thinks about shooting from a tight angle, but rolls the ball across the face of goal instead. Welbeck, sliding in at the far post, can only guide it wide right.

GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Vorskla (Welbeck 48)

Welbeck had done very little this evening, but this was lovely. Iwobi dribbles down the left again. He draws two players then lays off for Mkhitaryan, who has space and time to send an inswinger onto the head of Welbeck. The striker’s timed his run perfectly, and gently eyebrows a header into the top right, leaving Shust rooted to the spot.

Welbeck heads home Arsenal’s second. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters
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47 min: Iwobi continues to cause bother down the left flank. He wanders past Kravchenko and cuts one back for Mkhitaryan, who should do a lot better than shinning his shot wide left from ten yards.

46 min: Kobakhidze tries to burst down the right flank but he’s clipped from behind by Aubameyang, who is slightly fortunate to escape a yellow card.

HALF TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Vorskla

There’s just enough time for Mkhitaryan to nearly break clear into the Vorskla box, only to overrun his own flick through. And that’s that for the first half. Arsenal were pedestrian until they scored an excellent goal on the break. Since then, they’ve improved immensely, and the gap in quality has been clear to see. Arsenal are slowly easing themselves into this year’s Europa League.

45 min +1: Arsenal have finally come to life, because for the first time in this match Vorskla are rocking a bit. Mkhitaryan twists and spins down the inside left, turning in a tight spot and suddenly sending a rising shot straight at Shust, who tips over spectacularly. The corner comes to nought.

45 min: This is sensational from Aubameyang. He glides in from the left, past a couple of green shirts and into a pocket of space. He opens up and sends a dipping curler towards the bottom right. Shust is beaten all ends up, but the ball clatters the bottom of the right-hand post and out. So unlucky!

43 min: Iwobi has been excellent in this first half. He dribbles with great style down the left and bursts into space. His low cross very nearly finds Aubameyang, a few yards out. But not quite.

42 min: Rebenok threatens to break clear down the inside left, but a last-ditch intervention by Sokratis puts a stop to his gallop. Arsenal have been leaving quite a few large gaps at the back. A sharper team than Vorskla may have caused them some heartache.

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