Young guns are in cruise control after breakdown
UNAI EMERY gave the wheel to his Arsenal kids and they proved that not even a bump in the road can stop them in their tracks right now.
Goals from youngsters Emile Smith Rowe, Joe Willock and veteran Aaron Ramsey sent a youthful Gunners side cruising through as Group E winners.
But it came after the team bus suffered a breakdown on the way to the game, the latest in a series of problems that threatened to make it much harder than it was.
Switched from Poltava to the capital because of fears over the security situation in Ukraine after the imposition of martial law, it ended up being a walk in the park.
Played at a near-deserted Olympic Stadium in Kiev, it was men against boys – but the boys won, and Arsenal will now face a much easier draw in the last 32, avoiding the best teams that drop into the second-tier competition from the Champions League.
Arsenal defender Rob Holding, one of the few players to travel who has played regular first-team football this season, said: “There were a few problems. The change of venue, and then coming to the stadium, our team bus broke down and we had to jump in the minibus to get here.
“We were about two minutes away and we had to get a lift with security. But we got the result we wanted.”
Emery said: “We gave chances to our young players. But we were only thinking of the best performance for us and we finished the match with the result we wanted.”
With Tottenham to come this Sunday at the Emirates, Emery left the big guns at home, making 10 changes in a surreal atmosphere inside what felt like a ghost-town stadium.
But the 500 hardy Arsenal fans who braved the freezing cold and nightmare journey here after the late switch did not have to wait long for something to cheer.
Eddie Nketiah, making his first start, powered his way through the Vorskla defence with all the force of a Russian war boat ramming a Ukrainian tug.
Fed by Ramsey, the 19-year-old then found Smith Rowe, who smashed it home from close range for his second goal in four appearances in this competition.
Smith Rowe then turned provider for Ramsey, who won a penalty after a clumsy challenge from Igor Perduta and then got up to stroke home the spot-kick. Arsenal made it three before half-time when Mohamed Elneny played a great ball through to 19-year-old Willock, who scored his first goal for the club with a cool finish.
Vorskla actually managed to score twice in a 4-2 defeat at the Emirates in September but even the ball boys having a half-time kickabout to keep warm looked more threatening last night. In fact, it was so easy that Emery felt able to take off Holding after 60 minutes with the north London derby in mind and hand 18-year-old defender Zech Medley his debut.
This game was over well before then as the Gunners stretched their unbeaten run to 18 matches in all competitions.