Arsenal Vs AC Milan: 5 things we learned

Arsenal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan — MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 08: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the opening goal during UEFA Europa League Round of 16 match between AC Milan and Arsenal at the San Siro on March 8, 2018 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

2. Mesut and Mkhitaryan marvel

There have been few players deserving of more criticism than Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan for their recent anonymous displays. Both, primarily playing in a drifting, wide role, have tended to float through games, not ever actually impacting them in the way that Arsenal requires. That could not be further from the truth against Milan.

It was Ozil who supplied the two goals: The first came through his awareness, knowing where the space was, who was in a position to exploit that space — Mkhitaryan — and understanding that he had to play the ball into position as quickly as possible; the second was a lovely weighted pass, slicing between the Milan defence, allowing Aaron Ramsey to scamper onto and round Gigio Donnarumma.

Mkhitaryan, meanwhile, was all action. He scored the first, hit the crossbar late in the first half, laid on an excellent opportunity for Danny Welbeck with a searing counter attack, and, in the second half, used his dribbling ability to protect the ball and relieve the growing AC pressure. Both Mkhitaryan and Mesut were at their best, especially in the first half. Now, they just need to replicate it.