Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs AC Milan: 5 things we learned – Recovery shoots rise

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: Danny Welbeck of Arsenal scores from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan at Emirates Stadium on March 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: Danny Welbeck of Arsenal scores from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan at Emirates Stadium on March 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 15: Danny Welbeck of Arsenal scores from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan at Emirates Stadium on March 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Arsenal hosted AC Milan in the second leg of the last-16 Europa League tie on Thursday night. Here are five things we learned from the 3-1 win.

Arsenal followed up an impressive 2-0 win in the San Siro last Thursday with a solid 3-1 home victory to secure passage to the Europa League quarter-finals. Ultimately, their troubles were limited, with AC Milan only impressing themselves for short periods throughout the two-legged goals, and thanks to goals by Danny Welbeck, twice, and Granit Xhaka, the Gunners ran out comfortable victors.

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Here are five things we learned.

Arsenal, Danny Welbeck
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 15: Danny Welbeck of Arsenal heads home the third goal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Arsenal and AC Milan at Emirates Stadium on March 15, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

5. Danny Welbeck rewarded

Danny Welbeck was excellent in the first leg. He may not have scored, but his tireless running, especially in stretching the pitch as he relentlessly scampered into the channel behind the Milan defence, was invaluable to the fluidity, ruthlessness, and success of Arsenal’s performance. In the second leg, he was rewarded.

There are certainly questions to be asked of the validity and morality of the penalty — I believe that his heels clipped together, forcing him to tumble, meaning that it was neither a penalty nor a dive. But give credit to Welbeck, a not-usually clean striker of the football, for having the confidence to step up and convert.

He then got his second as the game ebbed away, nodding home Aaron Ramsey’s rebound after some excellent work by Jack Wilshere. Neither of the goals was especially brilliant play by Welbeck, but they are nonetheless precisely what he deserved. Hopefully, this can now lead to an injection of self-belief as the season draws towards its climax.