A magnificent Alexandre Lacazette free-kick sent Arsenal into the Europa League semi-finals after a comfortable 1-0 win away to a toothless Napoli.
Striker Alexandre Lacazette (left) scored the winner off a brilliant free-kick
Naples:
“We came here with ambition, we wanted to win and score some goals. We did it, and kept a clean sheet as well, which is important for the confidence,” said Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny. Ancelotti stated ‘the game lasted 30 minutes.’ “We had two chances to score and we didn’t succeed,” he said. “We have not been as lucid in the last two months. We are more predictable and because of that, we have difficulty with our finishing.”
In a lively opening half hour, Napoli threatened to make a breakthrough as Jose Callejon’s effort was saved by Petr Cech’s legs. Arkadiusz Milik then had a goal chalked off for offside. The Pole should have put Napoli ahead minutes later when Piotr Zielinski’s cross found him unmarked in the penalty area but he headed wide.
Arsenal lost Aaron Ramsey to a hamstring problem but, just as it seemed things were going against it, the tourist went ahead. Striker Lacazette curled his free-kick from 25 metres around a poorly organised wall. Arsenal should have wrapped up the game four minutes into the second half but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with only Alex Meret to beat, placed his shot too near the goalkeeper who was able to save.
The final period petered out after that as visitor Arsenal sat back and Napoli enjoyed most of the possession but did little with it. Fabian Ruiz summed up the evening by firing Napoli’s last chance wildly over the crossbar in stoppage time.
The result ended Serie A’s interest in European competitions this season. The Frenchman struck in the 36th minute just as Napoli, trailing 0-2 from the first leg, was threatening to take control of the game. Carlo Ancelotti’s team lost its way after that and, although the host had 67 percent of possession, the away side was able to sit out the second half. By virtue of the 3-0 aggregate win, Arsenal reached the last four for a second season in a row.
“We came here with ambition, we wanted to win and score some goals. We did it, and kept a clean sheet as well, which is important for the confidence,” said Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny. Ancelotti stated ‘the game lasted 30 minutes.’ “We had two chances to score and we didn’t succeed,” he said. “We have not been as lucid in the last two months. We are more predictable and because of that, we have difficulty with our finishing.”
In a lively opening half hour, Napoli threatened to make a breakthrough as Jose Callejon’s effort was saved by Petr Cech’s legs. Arkadiusz Milik then had a goal chalked off for offside. The Pole should have put Napoli ahead minutes later when Piotr Zielinski’s cross found him unmarked in the penalty area but he headed wide.
Arsenal lost Aaron Ramsey to a hamstring problem but, just as it seemed things were going against it, the tourist went ahead. Striker Lacazette curled his free-kick from 25 metres around a poorly organised wall. Arsenal should have wrapped up the game four minutes into the second half but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with only Alex Meret to beat, placed his shot too near the goalkeeper who was able to save.
The final period petered out after that as visitor Arsenal sat back and Napoli enjoyed most of the possession but did little with it. Fabian Ruiz summed up the evening by firing Napoli’s last chance wildly over the crossbar in stoppage time.