Mitch Freeley

Match Report

Arsenal has progressed to the quarterfinals of the Europa League following a 3-1 (5-1 aggregate) victory over AC Milan.

Milan started the tie much the better side and stated their intentions in the first minute. Andre Silva was found in plenty of space in the Arsenal box, and the Portuguese international striker unleashed a fierce drive towards goal. Fortunately for Arsenal, the ball skimmed the side netting.

Arsenal slowly found their feet in the contest and started to dominate possession, Danny Welbeck came closest to opening the scoring for the Gunners. However, his shot from a tight angle was pushed away by Donnarumma.  The Rossoneri took a shock lead on the 35th minute as Hakan Çalhanoğlu unleased a 20-yard screamer that curled passed Arsenal keeper David Ospina, leaving the Emirates shocked. 

Four minutes later, Arsenal found their leveller in controversial circumstances. Ricardo Rodríguez lightly tapped Danny Welbeck in the penalty box causing the England striker to fall down. Unbelievably the referee pointed to the spot, much to the disbelief of the Milan players and coach Gennaro Gattuso. After a few minutes waiting, Welbeck picked himself up and placed the ball the wrong side of  Donnarumma. The first half ended 1-1 with Gattuso giving the assistant linesman who flagged for the penalty a piece of his mind. 

In the second half, Milan seemed to know that the contest was all but over. With twenty minutes left to play, Granit Xhaka wound up for a 25-yard shot. It should have been a routine save for Donnarumma, but an awkward bounce saw the ball fall into the back of the net, a moment to forget for the 19-year old keeper. 

With four minutes left to play, Welbeck nodded in from close range to give Arsene Wenger's side a 3-1 win and for now some respite on the growing pressure from the fan base for change. Arsenal will find out their fate when the draw is made for the Quater-finals on Friday afternoon. 

Live Updates

Second Half

90- Peep! Full time! 3-1 (5-1 Aggregate) victory for Arsenal. Milan took an early lead with a screamer from Calhanoglu. Welbeck levelled controversially from the penalty spot. Before goals from Xhaka and a second from Welbeck put the gloss on a deserved win for the Gunners. 

90- Two minutes of extra time to play here. 

86- Cross from Wilshere, who finds Ramsey his header is batted away from Donnarumma. Welbeck is on hand to nod in! A second goal of the night for the striker 3-1 Arsenal

85- This game is winding down. Arsenal is zipping the ball around. Lovely! 

79- A round of substitutions. Kessie is replaced by Locatelli for Milan, and the Gunners replace Ozil with Sead Kolasinac

77- Credit to the AC Milan fans they are making a hell of a noise in the usually quiet Emirates. Suso pounces on a half clearance. Wide! 

71- GOAL! Game over! Xhaka hits a fairly innocuous shot from distance. It horribly bounces of Donnarumma and into the back of the net. A sickener for the 19-year-old keeper! But Arsenal won't care. Xhaka seems embarrassed to celebrate. 2-1 (4-1 aggregate)

69- Few Substitutes. El Neny comes on for Mkhitaryan. As for AC Milan Bonaventura is on for Calhanoglu

Kalinic nearly scores with his first touch! #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/V6r3hplPKZ — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

67- Kalinić could of had an immediate impact! Bonucci with a fine diagonal! The header from the striker is weak and saved by Ospina. 

66- Former Blackburn Rovers star Nikola Kalinić (that's for you Greg) comes on for Milan. Cutrone makes way for the Croatian.

63- It's all been Milan in the last few minutes. Calhanoglu's cross wins a corner. It's quickly played to Montolivo on the ground. The Defender skies the ball. 

Cutrone's flying scissor kick had @Arsenal fans worried! #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/Z2hU70Sfpc — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

58- Close for Milan! Andre Silva clips the ball to Cutrone his acrobatic volley looks impressive, but the ball speeds wide. 

You would expect @aaronramsey to hit the target from there instead he finds row Z! #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/nR7pGOjHRu — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

55- A chance that goes begging for Arsenal. Ozil with an onrushing Ramsey, his shot goes well over and in the aftermath clashes with Borini. Ramsey is limping. Worrying. 

52- This is warming up nicely. Suso pounces on a half clearance from Arsenal, his shot goes just wide for Milan. 

49- Some save from Donnarumma! Ozil with a pass to Mkhitaryan the Italian keeper pushes the ball around the post with a good save. The corner comes to nothing. 

48- Bellerin picks out Ramsey with a smart cross. The Welshman goes for a shot, which rebounds off Romagnoli and is held by Donnarumma

47- Kessié attempts a pot shot. Easily held by Ospena. Milan are looking for an early goal here. 

Peep! Milan get us underway

First Half

Peep! Half time! 1-1 All go in this half! A dream strike from Calhanoglu is cancelled out by Welbeck from the penalty spot. Meanwhile, Gattuso marches onto the pitch to have a shout at the assistant referee. Chilling. 

.@gigiodonna1 stops @JackWilshere from putting this tie to bed! #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/1TjUTAaKFr — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

40+1 Jack Wilshere launches a strike from distance! Saved by Donnarumma

45 Monreal launches a deep cross to Welbeck a deft flick to Mkhitaryan who heads just wide! CLOSE! 

40- That goal also means no extra time or penalties tonight. Arsenal lead 3-1 on aggregate

38-  Goal! Penalty! Wow! Big call that! Rodríguez taps Welbeck who tumbles down in the penalty box. The referee points to the spot! The Milan players are incensed! Welbeck steps up and rolls it into the net! Arsenal level! 1-1!

36- Ramsey with a shot, saved by Donnarumma Arsenal have woken up! 

34-  Goal! Milan take the lead with a screamer! Calhanoglu with a peach! This is going to get interesting. 1-0

33- Milan is enjoying a period of possession. Suso attempts a cross which evades everyone. Meanwhile, Gennaro Gattuso is seething. 

28- Arsenal are having plenty of the ball, but lacking that clinical edge in the final third. Remeber, a goal for the Gunners will effectively seal the tie in their favour. 

Deadly counter-attack, that's trademark @Arsenal! #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/YflUXHGEI1 — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

24- Chance for Arsenal on the break! Danny Welbeck has a crack from a tight angle. Donnarumma stays big and clears the ball with his knee

20- Arsenal is targeting makeshift right-back Borini. Ozil and Mkhitaryan exchange passes, the Armenian's cross is overhit and rolls out for a corner.

18- Half-chance for Arsenal. Monreal works well on the overlap and receives the ball from Mkhitaryan. The cross is bound for Welbeck, but Montolivo comes in with a clearing header. 

15- The game hasn't really settled down yet. Ozil running the ball out of play, sums it up all nicely. 

11- This doesn't look good for Arsenal. Koscielny is down, holding his left side. Calum Chambers is limbering up. A forced change for the Gunners.  

Megs 😮 #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/rIR1YSNp1H — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

7- Suso leaves Monreal for dead on the wing. His attempted cross goes over the crossbar. 

4- Mkhitaryan knocks in the corner, Koscielny connects with the header! However, the ball flies well over. Goal kick. 

3- After that early foray forward the Gunners have regained their composure. Hector Bellerin wins the first corner of the game. 

Under a minute gone and @acmilan almost scored their first goal of the night! #beINUEL #ARSMIL pic.twitter.com/LQ3pBCrsax — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 15, 2018

1- Milan on the break! An early warning for Arsenal. A cross finds Andre Silva, and the Portuguese striker takes aim. Fortunately, the shot hits the side netting. Intent from Milan. 

Peep! Arsenal get us underway! 

Preamble 

Right! The players are out on the pitch! Let the football begin! A quick reminder you can watch the action via beIN SPORTS CONNECT. 

Kick-off is in 15 or so minutes! Imagine if Milan get an early goal tonight. That would make it nervy for Arsenal! 

The lads in warm-up minutes before kick-off 🔥⚽️
Il riscaldamento dei rossoneri a pochi minuti dal calcio d'inizio 🔥🔴⚫️#AFCACM #UEL #weareateam #weareacmilan pic.twitter.com/AX5hnSS2pL — AC Milan (@acmilan) March 15, 2018

Fancy a slice of Europa League action from Russia? Of course, you do! The current favourites for the Europa League Atletico Madrid won 5-1 away to Lokomotiv Moscow. Check out the highlights below! Or read the match report! Double the excitement! 

AC MILAN TEAM NEWS! As expected Fabio Borini has been asked to do a job at right back. Good luck to the former Sunderland man! It also seems that Milan will be lining up in a 4-4-2. Although that could be a huge ruse from Rino Gattuso, the trickster. 

#ACMilan XI: Donnarumma; Borini, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez; Suso, Kessie, Montolivo, Calhanoglu; Cutrone, André Silva

Subs | Panchina: Storari, Musacchio, Zapata, Biglia, Bonaventura, Locatelli, Kalinic#AFCACM #UEL pic.twitter.com/idQBQargGw — AC Milan (@acmilan) March 15, 2018

Team News! We have team news! First up it's the hosts Arsenal. Bellerin, Mustafi & Monreal all recover from knocks to start. Welbeck leads the line. 

🚨 OUR TEAM IS IN 🚨#AFCvACM pic.twitter.com/qbBS6Kv8nH — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 15, 2018

One of the major talking points ahead of the game has been the attendance at the Emirates for the visit of the seven time European Champions AC Milan. Football journalist Michael Bridge gave his thoughts on the situation to beIN SPORTS news earlier today. 

Look at the Emirates looking all moody in the winter sunlight. Kick off is at 11:05 Mecca tonight. 

HOME 🏡#AFCvACM pic.twitter.com/Fe3rIC03BK — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 15, 2018

Hello! Welcome to the Live Updates of Arsenal Vs AC Milan. The Gunners have the upper hand in the contest after winning the first-leg at the San Siro 2-0. If you fancy it, you can join me for the Live Updates of the game (including video highlights!) or watch the action on beIN SPORTS CONNECT! 

Preview

Arsenal will be quietly confident of reaching the Europa League quarter-finals following their impressive 2-0 away win against AC Milan last week. You can watch all of the Europa League action Live & Exclusive via beIN SPORTS CONNECT. 

The Europa league is now the sole target for the North London club, and winning the competition would also mean a return to the Champions League. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has never lifted the Europa League and is certainly prioritizing the competition based on his team selection in the league. 

In team news, central defender Shkodran Mustafi should be available for selection after limping off injured against Watford. Whilst defenders Nacho Monreal & Hector Bellerin are also in contention to take part. Despite returning to training this week, summer signing Alexandre Lacazette will not be fit enough to take part. 

Ahead of the match, Wenger has called for focus from his side despite scoring two away goals in the first leg. “What we want is to produce a performance that is expected from us and then you give your best and you have to accept that this competition is very tight.”

Key Information 

Location- Emirates Stadium, London

Kick-Off- 11:05pm (Mecca)

Channel- HD 11

Watch Online- beIN SPORTS CONNECT

As for AC Milan, Arsenal halted a thirteen game unbeaten sequence in all competitions. Over the weekend Milan needed a stoppage-time header from Andre Silva to beat Genoa 1-0 to return to winning ways. 

In team news, the Rossoneri have several players who will be absent for the Thursday evening visit to the Emirates. Including an injury crisis at right back with the trio of Andrea Conti, Davide Calabria & Ignazio Abate all absent from the travelling party. Former Sunderland striker Fabio Borini may deputize in their place. 

Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso will also have to make a call on who will lead the line for his side. Choosing youth prospect, Patrick Cutrone 20 or Andre Silva fresh from his goalscoring heroics at the weekend. 

Talking ahead of the match, Gattuso had a rallying call for his side insisting that they can make history and overturn the odds to qualify on Thursday. 

"We know it will be difficult, but we're born ready. This is football and there is nothing more beautiful than to overturn the odds and make history. Tomorrow’s match will be different. We will give our all because it’s our dream, but we know we'll have to play a perfect match.”

It certainly promises to be an interesting encounter when Arsenal welcome the seven-time European Cup winners AC Milan to Emirates stadium. You can watch all the action via beIN SPORTS CONNECT.