SM
Sports Mole words bigger AMP 2
Blackburn vs. Preston: 9 hrs 56 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
AL
Arsenal logo
Europa League | Group Stage
Dec 13, 2018 at 8pm UK
 
Q
Qarabag

1-0

Lacazette (17')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Alexandre Lacazette wins it for experimental Arsenal

:Headline: Result: Alexandre Lacazette wins it for experimental Arsenal: ID:344133: from db_amp
Arsenal beat Azerbaijani champions Qarabag FK 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium to conclude their Europa League group campaign with their unbeaten record intact.

Alexandre Lacazette scored what proved to be the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Qarabag FK 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night to extend their unbeaten run to 22 matches.

In front of a sparse crowd, surprise starter Lacazette fired home 16 minutes into the match to earn the Gunners their fifth win in six Group E outings.

With top spot and a place in the last 32 already secured before kickoff, an experimental Arsenal side struggled to get out of first gear against the Azerbaijani champions on a largely forgettable evening.

Result: Lacazette wins it for experimental Arsenal

Unai Emery made nine changes on the back of the 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town here four days ago that kept his side's momentum going, bringing in Laurent Koscielny for his first appearance in seven months and Mesut Ozil for his first outing in a month.

It was one of those retained from the Huddersfield game that opened the scoring for the Gunners, with Lacazette powering the ball across Vagner into the far corner of the net once slipped in by Ozil.

That was Lacazette's first goal in this season's Europa League at the third attempt, while also marking the first assist claimed by Ozil since the October win over Leicester City.

Lacazette's moment of quality aside, though, the first half offered little in the way of entertainment as both sides showed little urgency.

Debutant Bukayo Saka cut inside and curled a deflected shot on target, which Vagner did well to push aside, but that would prove to be it in terms of notable first-half action.

Result: Lacazette wins it for experimental Arsenal

Wilde-Donald Guerrier headed over the bar from a rare Qarabag opportunity on the hour, while Carl Jenkinson saw a close-range shot blocked in front of goal.

Emery had a number of youngsters on the bench for this concluding Group E match, watched by a third-full Emirates Stadium, but he held off from using any of them until 25 minutes from the end when Zech Medley was brought on for his home debut.

That alteration came moments after Qarabag sub Araz Abdullayev miscued a shot from Abdellah Zoubir's cutback 10 yards from goal in the visitors' best opening of the night.

Medley's arrival meant Ainsley Maitland-Niles pushing into a more advanced position, and the versatile wideman set up Saka for a good chance 20 minutes from time - the youngster seeing his shot deflect narrowly wide, before his next attempt from further back was gathered by Vagner.

Emery replaced Koscielny - the only starter to boast a 100% pass-completion rate - for the final quarter of the match as Arsenal continued to go through the motions.

Eddie Nketiah, who played a big part in what turned out to be the winning goal with his tackle high up the pitch to turn over possession, had a swooping header correctly ruled out for offside in the final 15 minutes.

There was also a late chance for Saka to become Arsenal's youngest scorer in Europe at just 17 years old, but he blasted his close-range shot right in Vagner's face.

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Jenkinson, Sokratis, Koscielny (Monreal 72'), Maitland-Niles; Elneny, Willock; Saka, Ozil (Gilmour 83'), Nketiah; Lacazette (Medley 63')

QARABAG (3-5-2): Vagner; Rzezniczak (Ozobic 85'), Sadiqov, Huseynov; Medvedev, Slavchev, Qarayev, Michel (Abdullayev 61'), Guerrier; Madatov (Quintana 75'), Zoubir

amp_article__344133 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-12-22 08:43:46:
html db last update - 2018-12-22 08:43:46 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .