ROAD TO RECOVERY
● Aubameyang has malaria but ‘feeling much better’ ● Gunners keep trophy hopes alive with romp in Prague
PIERRE-EMERICK Aubameyang watched Arsenal cruise home against Slavia Prague from his hospital bed after revealing he had contracted malaria.
The Arsenal skipper, who had been criticised for recent efforts and, after complaining of feeling ill, was found to have picked up the disease last month while on international duty with Gabon. Just a few minutes before the kick-off of Arsenal’s second leg in Prague, he sent an instagram
SLAVIA PRAGUE 0
ARSENAL 4
ARSENAL WIN 5-1 ON AGG
IT WAS the night when Arsenal’s two brightest talents became big players – just as Mikel Arteta predicted.
“In big games, big players have to step in and create the magic moments,” he said before a ticklish game which could have ended Arsenal’s season and truncated his tenure at the club beyond measure.
But Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe stepped up to the plate.
Of course, they were not the obvious names that sprang to mind when the manager talked about
“big players”. It seemed more to be aimed at £72million Nicolas Pepe, £45m Thomas Partey and club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
In fairness, the first two stepped up a gear – Pepe in particular.
But while fate decreed Aubameyang was confined to his sickbed with malaria for the most important night of Arsenal’s season so far, it was Saka and Smith Rowe burning with Europa League fever.
A horrible lapse at the end of the first leg left this tie in the balance.
But three-and-nine-tenths of a goal in just nine red-hot minutes proved the tonic for Arsenal.
Smith Rowe was unlucky the ‘nine-tenths’ was not quite granted full goal status in the first place. In the 15th minute, he was put clear in space on the right and just went. Nudging the ball outside to Saka, the England international cut inside and curled a left-foot shot against the inside of the far post, where it landed at the feet of Smith Rowe again, who side-footed the ball into the empty net.
It was only after an extraordinarily long VAR check that it was declared millimetres offside. Smith Rowe didn’t care, though. Four minutes later, surrounded by defenders, he produced two nutmegs to set Pepe clear and he did well to stay on his feet under pressure and drive the ball inside the near post.
Two minutes later, Smith Rowe and Saka were at it again. Smith
Rowe burst to the goal-line to cut the ball back and Jakub Hromada could only crash into Saka from behind.
Alexandre Lacazette waited for keeper Ondrej Kolar to dive the wrong way for the penalty and slid the ball into the opposite corner.
There was still more to come. In the 24th minute, Saka was invited forward by Calum Chambers, cut inside again, and arrowed his shot inside the near post to leave Kolar rooted to the spot.
Even Arsenal, with such a litany of European failings, could not throw it away from here.
Slavia, buoyed by about 750 fans as the Czech lockdown eases, had not lost in this stadium to anybody for more than a year.They were able to enjoy nearly two-thirds of the possession as they began the game with the quarter-final in their favour by dint of their away goals.
It was just that Arsenal had been so efficient.
Smith Rowe could be withdrawn after 67 minutes, job done. Saka and Pepe were left on to continue wreaking havoc.
Having not managed a single shot on target even by this stage, Slavia had slowed virtually to a stop.
As it proved 13 minutes from time when Pepe drilled a low cross to Lacazette in the penalty box and the Arsenal captain for the night had time to control the ball and fire in a late fourth.