Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Valencia: 5 things we learned – I love centre-forwards

By Andrew Dowdeswell

VALENCIA, SPAIN - MAY 09: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg match between Valencia and Arsenal at Estadio Mestalla on May 09, 2019 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - MAY 09: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg match between Valencia and Arsenal at Estadio Mestalla on May 09, 2019 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /
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VALENCIA, SPAIN – MAY 09: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg match between Valencia and Arsenal at Estadio Mestalla on May 09, 2019 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN – MAY 09: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg match between Valencia and Arsenal at Estadio Mestalla on May 09, 2019 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /

On Thursday, Arsenal travelled to Valencia for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final with a 3-1 lead. Here are five things we learned from the 4-2 win.

Thanks to seven goals across 180 minutes from just two players, Arsenal eased their way past Valencia in Thursday night’s conclusion of their Europa League semi-final. Bar a scare to open the match, with Kevin Gameiro sliding home a low cross at the back post, the Gunners were fairly comfortable for much of the tie, riding the sheer brilliance of their strikers to a first European final in more than a decade.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Death, Decay, Despair

Here are five things we learned from the 4-2 second leg win.

VALENCIA, SPAIN – MAY 09: Goncalo Guedes of Valencia battles for possession with Lucas Torreira of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg match between Valencia and Arsenal at Estadio Mestalla on May 09, 2019 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN – MAY 09: Goncalo Guedes of Valencia battles for possession with Lucas Torreira of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Second Leg match between Valencia and Arsenal at Estadio Mestalla on May 09, 2019 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /

5. Manage the game properly

How both Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka were caught wildly out of position and far too advanced in their positions after just a matter of minutes, I will never know. But if you ever wanted a picture as to the ineptitude of game-management at Arsenal football club, this was it.

From that moment on, they oddly managed the match fairly well. They started to control the ball a little more in the midfield, worked Mesut Ozil into the pattern of play with more frequency, and pressed higher up the pitch, bottling up the wide switch to the Valencia left flank that was causing problems early on.

Nevertheless, conceding the first goal as they did, and then completely switching off for a second later on, is criminal in double-legged ties. Winning in Europe is about managing football matches. Just ask Barcelona and Ajax. Arsenal did enough here, but it still was not great.