Aubameyang hits brace in Arsenal cruise

Pierre-emerick Aubameyang struck twice as Unai Emery’s first Europa League game in charge of Arsenal ended with a straightforward 4-2 victory over Vorskla Poltava at the Emirates.

Emery is a specialist in this competition having won it three years in a row while at Sevilla and the Gunners started this season’s group stage in style.

Aubameyang scored in each half, with Danny Welbeck and substitute Mesut Ozil also weighing in with goals.

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno was handed his debut following his move to the Emirates in the summer – but the German was unable to toast the occasion with a clean sheet.

Captain Volodymyr Chesnakov pulled one back for Vorskla, who added a second as Vyacheslav Sharpar scored with the final kick of the evening.

Chelsea also enjoyed a winning start to their campaign with a 1-0 victory over PAOK Salonika in Thessaloniki.

Maurizio Sarri anticipated this would be the most difficult match of Group L, which also features Belarus’ BATE Borisov and Vidi of Hungary, and Chelsea squandered numerous chances. Willian’s seventhminute strike was the difference for the Blues, the Brazil midfielder netting after Ross Barkley’s surge through the porous PAOK defence.