Europa League: Arsenal vs Bate Borisov – Player Ratings, Match stats and Highlights

On a Thursday night Europa League action, Arsenal swatted aside Belorussian side BATE Borisov 3-0 and advanced to the round of 16.

The comeback at the Emirates stadium was crucial as the Gunners had lost the first leg away from home, but a 3-1 aggregate victory ensured them a place in the round of 16. Mesut Ozil, who made his first start since 29 January, was hugely influential in all of the three goals scored by the London club. The Gunners’ boss Unai Emery preferred him playing in his favored No 10 position and the German looked sharp throughout the game. The link-up between the German and Alex Iwobi on the left flank was a key factor in the victory and Iwobi couldn’t stop singing praises of German international.

Arsenal(4-2-3-1): Cech, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil, Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs: Leno, Papastathopoulos, Ramsey, Torreira, Suarez, Kolasinac, Nketiah.

BATE(4-2-3-1): Scherbitski, Rios, Volkov, Filipenko, Filipovic, Simovic, Dragun, Milic, Baha, Stasevich, Skavysh. Subs: Chichkan, Yablonskiy, Berezkin, Dubajic, Hleb, Moukam, Nemirko.

Goals: Zakhar Volkov(OG 4′), Shkodran Mustafi(39′), Papastathopoulos(61′)
Yellow cards: NIL

A lead just inside four minutes completely charged up the fans as well as the players at the Emirates as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s cross was bundled into his own net by defender Zakhar Volkov. A few moments later, Bate showed some brilliance in the final third as they almost scored a vital away goal, but thanks to Stephan Lichtsteiner, who was perfectly in position to clear Stanislav Dragun’s shot off the goal line. The hosts doubled their lead as centre-half Shkodran Mustafi met Granit Xhaka’s corner with a powerful header, just six minutes before the half-time whistle.

Three minutes into the second half and goalkeeper Peter Cech was involved as a loose ball fell right into the path of Maksim Skavysh, whose low driven shot was stifled by the Arsenal goalkeeper. In the 61st minute, the fans finally got some breathing space when a corner from Granit Xhaka was headed home by Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who replaced Laurent Koscielny just minutes before scoring the goal.