Match ends, Arsenal 3, Benfica 2.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a dramatic late winner to help Arsenal edge past Benfica into the last 16 of the Europa League.
In a 'home' leg played at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, because of Covid-19 restrictions, Aubameyang opened the scoring to give the Gunners a 2-1 aggregate lead.
Diogo Goncalves levelled for Benfica just before the break with a superb free-kick after Dani Ceballos had needlessly fouled Julian Weigl.
The Spanish midfielder compounded that error after the interval with a poor defensive header that saw Rafa Silva race clear to put the visitors in front.
With Arsenal needing two goals to advance because of the away goals rule, Kieran Tierney's low drive set up a grandstand finish before Aubameyang rescued the tie.
Mikel Arteta's side will discover their last-16 opponents in Friday's draw in Nyon (12:00 GMT).
- Has Aubameyang saved Arsenal's season?
- Reaction to Thursday's Europa League action
- When is the draw for the Europa League last 16?
Arsenal avoid another Greek exit
Having exited the Europa League at the same stage last season to Olympiakos, it looked as though circumstances had conspired for another European campaign to end in desperate fashion.
Faced with a four-hour flight for a fixture technically billed at home and inside a stadium where they have enjoyed mixed fortunes in the past, Arteta's side started brightly enough.
When Aubameyang raced on to Bukayo Saka's incisive pass to lift the ball beyond Benfica goalkeeper Helton Leite, they were firmly in control having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Rome's Olympic Stadium.
But from that point the game began to unravel as Benfica scored from their first two efforts on target - thanks to a helping hand from Ceballos.
To their credit, though, the Gunners, who had won just one of their past six matches, displayed plenty of resolve to come back from the brink of a damaging defeat that would surely have left their hopes of lifting a trophy this season in tatters.
Tierney was rewarded for a fine individual display by becoming the first Scottish player to score in a major European competition for the club since 1980.
And Aubameyang, who came in for criticism after missing several chances in the first leg, atoned with his second of the night from Saka's back-post cross.
Aside from sparing Arteta the inevitable questions over the club's progression under his stewardship, it also provided the Gabon forward with an element of redemption after his last-gasp miss sealed their fate against Olympiakos 12 months ago.
Leno's landmark - the stats
- Arsenal have reached the last 16 of the Europa League in three of the four seasons they have appeared in the competition, with the only exception being in 2019-20 (eliminated at the last 32).
- Benfica suffered their first Europa League defeat since February 2020 against Shakhtar Donetsk (2-1), ending their eight-game unbeaten run in the competition.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in seven of his past eight cup matches for Arsenal (10 goals in total - FA Cup - five, Europa League - four, Community Shield - one), only failing to net against Benfica in the first leg during this run.
- Only Trent Alexander-Arnold (20) has more assists among English players for Premier League clubs in all competitions since the start of last season than Bukayo Saka (18), following his two assists this evening.
- Kieran Tierney became the first Scotsman to score for Arsenal in a major European competition since Willie Young against Gothenburg in March 1980 in the Cup Winners Cup quarter-final.
- Bernd Leno made his 100th appearance for Arsenal in all competitions, becoming the fifth German player to reach this milestone for the club after Jens Lehmann (200), Per Mertesacker (221) Mesut Ozil (254) and Shkodran Mustafi (151).
Player of the match
TierneyKieran Tierney
Arsenal
Avg
- Squad number3Player nameTierneyAverage rating
7.98
- Squad number14Player nameAubameyangAverage rating
7.86
- Squad number7Player nameSakaAverage rating
7.82
- Squad number11Player nameØdegaardAverage rating
6.47
- Squad number32Player nameSmith RoweAverage rating
6.40
- Squad number18Player nameParteyAverage rating
6.32
- Squad number9Player nameLacazetteAverage rating
6.20
- Squad number1Player nameLenoAverage rating
5.95
- Squad number6Player nameGabriel MagalhãesAverage rating
5.93
- Squad number34Player nameXhakaAverage rating
5.89
- Squad number12Player nameWillianAverage rating
5.86
- Squad number2Player nameBellerínAverage rating
5.63
- Squad number21Player nameChambersAverage rating
5.61
- Squad number23Player nameDavid LuizAverage rating
5.59
- Squad number25Player nameMohamed ElnenyAverage rating
5.49
- Squad number8Player nameDani CeballosAverage rating
4.32
Benfica
Avg
- Squad number17Player nameDiogo GonçalvesAverage rating
5.26
- Squad number21Player namePizziAverage rating
5.13
- Squad number30Player nameOtamendiAverage rating
5.12
- Squad number49Player nameTaarabtAverage rating
5.09
- Squad number27Player nameRafaAverage rating
5.07
- Squad number3Player nameGrimaldoAverage rating
5.01
- Squad number28Player nameWeiglAverage rating
5.01
- Squad number5Player nameVertonghenAverage rating
4.99
- Squad number4Player nameLucas VerissimoAverage rating
4.88
- Squad number7Player nameEvertonAverage rating
4.79
- Squad number14Player nameSeferovicAverage rating
4.79
- Squad number10Player nameWaldschmidtAverage rating
4.72
- Squad number8Player nameGabriel PiresAverage rating
4.64
- Squad number77Player nameHelton LeiteAverage rating
4.61
- Squad number71Player nameNuno TavaresAverage rating
4.53
- Squad number9Player nameNúñezAverage rating
4.44
Line-ups
Arsenal
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Leno
- 2BellerínSubstituted forLacazetteat 78'minutes
- 23David Luiz
- 6Gabriel
- 3Tierney
- 8CeballosSubstituted forParteyat 63'minutes
- 34Xhaka
- 7SakaSubstituted forChambersat 90'minutes
- 11ØdegaardSubstituted forElnenyat 90'minutes
- 32Smith RoweSubstituted forWillianat 63'minutes
- 14Aubameyang
Substitutes
- 9Lacazette
- 12Willian
- 17Cédric Soares
- 18Partey
- 19Pépé
- 21Chambers
- 22Marí
- 25Elneny
- 30Nketiah
- 33Ryan
- 35Martinelli
- 44Hein
Benfica
Formation 3-5-2
- 77Aleixo Leite
- 4Verissimo da Silva
- 30Otamendi
- 5Vertonghen
- 17Cupido Goncalves
- 21Afonso FernandesSubstituted forSousa Soaresat 58'minutes
- 28WeiglSubstituted forWaldschmidtat 90'minutes
- 49TaarabtBooked at 5minsSubstituted forAppelt Piresat 58'minutes
- 3GrimaldoSubstituted forTavaresat 85'minutes
- 27Ferreira Silva
- 14SeferovicSubstituted forNúñezat 57'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Svilar
- 2Junior
- 7Sousa Soares
- 8Appelt Pires
- 9Núñez
- 10Waldschmidt
- 11Cervi
- 19Machado
- 38Delmino da Silva
- 71Tavares
- 88Gonçalo Ramos
- 99Vlachodimos
- Referee:
- Björn Kuipers
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home53%
- Away47%
- Shots
- Home10
- Away6
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away2
- Corners
- Home1
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away3
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Arsenal 3, Benfica 2.
Post update
Foul by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal).
Post update
Rafa (Benfica) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Offside, Benfica. Nuno Tavares tries a through ball, but Rafa is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Mohamed Elneny replaces Martin Ødegaard.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Calum Chambers replaces Bukayo Saka.
Substitution
Substitution, Benfica. Gian-Luca Waldschmidt replaces Julian Weigl.
Goal!
Goal! Arsenal 3, Benfica 2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Bukayo Saka with a cross.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Gabriel Pires (Benfica) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nuno Tavares with a cross.
Substitution
Substitution, Benfica. Nuno Tavares replaces Alejandro Grimaldo.
Post update
Foul by Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal).
Post update
Darwin Núñez (Benfica) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Alexandre Lacazette replaces Héctor Bellerín.
Post update
Attempt missed. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high.
Post update
Offside, Arsenal. Thomas Partey tries a through ball, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Darwin Núñez (Benfica) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Post update
Attempt missed. David Luiz (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Post update
Attempt missed. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Kieran Tierney with a cross.
Goal!
Goal! Arsenal 2, Benfica 2. Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Willian.
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Comments
Join the conversation
Away goals needs to be scrapped!! It wasn't even a good rule back when we actually had home fans and games played at home stadiums. Now it's just ridiculous.
Even if the games are played at home stadiums it's meaningless without the fans!
Why not just let the game go to extra time and/or penalties? More excitement for the fans.
Under no illusions regarding the potential to win this competition, there are more capable teams still in there, but I’ll continue to trust in Arteta to carry on the rebuild.
Well played and good luck going forward.
🤣🤣
Sit back down
COYG💪🏽
They won in adversity so that's a good sign.
The only way is UP. KEEP believing. Keep supporting. #COYG
He runs his legs off, is the main reason we dominate possession more often than not and is always looking for a forward pass. We'd have been in even more trouble without him this year.