Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal Vs Napoli: 5 things we learned – Well, that was wonderful

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final First Leg match between Arsenal and S.S.C. Napoli at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final First Leg match between Arsenal and S.S.C. Napoli at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 11: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final First Leg match between Arsenal and S.S.C. Napoli at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 11: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final First Leg match between Arsenal and S.S.C. Napoli at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

On Thursday night, Arsenal hosted Napoli in the first leg of their tightly balanced Europa League quarter-final. Here are the player ratings from the 2-0 win.

Arsenal could not have played much better. With a dangerous Napoli side coming to the Emirates, hoping to take a solid first leg result back to Naples in the Europa League quarter-final, the Gunners decided to turn on the style, playing some of their best football of the season in a scintillating first-half display. After the break, the clean sheet became the priority. And at the end of it all, Unai Emery and his players can go home very happy indeed.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

Here are five things we learned from Thursday’s 2-0 win over Napoli.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 11: Lucas Torreira of Arsenal battles for the ball with Fabian Ruiz of Napoli during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final First Leg match between Arsenal and S.S.C. Napoli at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 11: Lucas Torreira of Arsenal battles for the ball with Fabian Ruiz of Napoli during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final First Leg match between Arsenal and S.S.C. Napoli at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

5. Lucas Torreira is back

I postulated before kick-off that Thursday night could see the return of the early-season Lucas Torreira. My thinking was simple. He needed a rest after playing lots of minutes while dealing with the stresses of moving to a new team and because of suspension, he got rest. Within the first couple of minutes, it was clear that he was back to his old self.

Torreira was brilliantly energetic in the heart of the Arsenal midfield. Pressing at the right time, with his typical starfish tackling style that cuts off passing angles for the opposing player, the Uruguayan won two tackles, one interception and made two blocks in the first half alone. It was his clever, timely pressing that instigated the second goal, which perfectly summed up his display.

He was also efficient in possession. This has been the greatest gripe with him during his first season. He is a little limited in his distribution, rarely taking on the brave, attacking option. He was still conservative here, but he moved the ball with great tempo which allowed Arsenal to subsequently move up the pitch. This was the Torreira of the early season. How great it is to have him back.