Relief for Wenger as anxious Arsenal scrape home
MAKE no mistake, Arsenal were rattled to their core. What should have been a routine night turned into an evening of nerve-jangling trauma for Arsene Wenger. In the end, Arsenal secured their spot in today’s Europa League semi-final draw — but they were handed an almighty fright. CSKA, trailing 4-1 from the first leg, stormed into a 2-0 lead to move to within one goal of completing a stunning comeback. But Danny Welbeck calmed Arsenal’s nerves in the 75th minute before Aaron Ramsey scored in added time. The Russians were brave and exuberant. Arsenal were feeble and lacklustre. Here in Moscow, Wenger got away with one. The Arsenal boss said: ‘They made my heart beat much quicker than I wanted but we played against a
good team and they gave us many problems. If you look at the game, we were in trouble. But after the first game it was difficult to return with the same urgency for us.’ In light of Roma’s comeback against Barcelona on Tuesday, Wenger warned his players against complacency. They did not heed his advice. Much as in last week’s first leg, CSKA were impressive until the final ball during the first 30 minutes. Pass after pass was intercepted by Arsenal’s back four and CSKA’s valiant efforts looked destined to be in vain. They were not laying a glove on the Gunners but then, out of the blue, they had them on the ropes. Petr Cech could only parry Kirill Nababkin’s downward header and the goalkeeper was helpless to prevent Fyodor Chalov tapping home the rebound in the 39th minute. Arsenal had won six on the spin before their trip to Moscow. You would not have known it by their lifeless firsthalf showing. And it could have been worse before the break when Kristijan Bistrovic smashed a long-range effort narrowly wide, while CSKA had two penalty appeals turned down by referee Felix Zwayer. Arsenal were rocked in the 50th minute when Nababkin fired home from close range after Cech’s misjudged parry from an Aleksandr Golovkin cross. Cech made up for his error moments later with an excellent stop to keep out Golovkin’s free-kick. Arsenal were there for the taking and Wenger’s decision to bring on defender Calum Chambers for Jack Wilshere said everything about their predicament. But Welbeck broke Russian hearts with minutes left, firing home to ensure Arsenal’s semi-final spot, before Ramsey levelled on the night late on.