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Watch Aubameyang stunner as Lacazette inspires great Arsenal comeback win in Europa League

Watch Aubameyang stunner as Lacazette inspires great Arsenal comeback win in Europa League

A double from Alexandre Lacazette along with a 90th minute strike from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Arsenal a 3-1 win over Valencia in the first leg of a Europa League semi-final match played at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

Arsenal started poorly against the Spanish visitors and duly fell behind in the 11th minute through Mouctar Diakhaby’s header from close range after the Gunners defenders failed to clear their lines from a Valencia corner kick.

Before then, Ezequiel Garay should have scored for Los Che when the ball fell to his feet with an open goal waiting for him to make the net bulge, only for the Argentina defender to send his effort over the bar to the relief of the Arsenal players.

Valencia’s early surge and goal sparked Arsenal to action, though, and it did not take long for the Gunners to find a way back into the match… and they did so in eye-catching manner. Great combination from Mesut Ozil, Aubameyang and Lacazette saw the Gunners orchestrate a blistering counter-attack that led to the equaliser in the 17th minute.

Ozil found Lacazette in the Arsenal half and the French striker showed great strength to beat off his marker and send Aubameyang speeding towards goal.

The Gabonese man then showed great awareness to draw the attention of Valencia players away from his strike partner before laying the ball off for the onrushing Lacazette to tap into an empty goal.

Lacazette then put Arsenal in front after 26 minutes with a header that went over the line despite the best efforts of Valencia goalkeeper, Neto, to keep the ball from going in.

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Arsenal continued to dominate proceedings, though, needed to remain wary to Valencia’s threat in the rare chances they got going forward. Yet, the blistering start to the game made way for a lull as Unai Emery’s men went into the break with a 2-1 lead.

The Gunners began the second half better than they did the first, as they continued their search for a third goal which would make the return leg in Spain a less difficult trip to handle.

But a resilient Valencia side soaked up the pressure thrown at their defenders as the clock ticked away towards the end of the match. And just when it seemed Arsenal would have to make do with just a single-goal advantage, a breakthrough was made.

Right on the stroke of 90 minutes, Sead Kolasinac floated the ball in from the left perfectly for Aubameyang who slammed in a volley from a tight angle and give Arsenal that crucial two-goal cushion over Valencia, allowing the Gunners put themselves in a great position to qualify for the Europa League final.

Arsenal will host Brighton & Hove-Albion in the Premier League this weekend as they chase a top four finish that guarantees a place in next season’s Champions League.

However, the win over Valencia tonight puts Arsenal in good position to end the season with a silverware and still in contention to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.