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Arsenal edged past Vitoria SC in an end to end contest at the Emirates Stadium to keep their perfect record in the Europa League intact. The victory meant that the Gunners stayed at the perch of their group while the visitors were left stranded at the bottom.
The Portuguese outfit raced off the blocks and immediately shocked Arsenal with their propensity to attack incessantly. Their offensive endeavours were rewarded in the 8th minute when Marcus Edwards twisted the hosts’ defenders inside out before firing past Emiliano Martinez.
In the 32nd minute, Arsenal restored parity when Gabriel Martinelli towered above the Vitoria defenders to nod home. However, the Gunners’ joy was short-lived as a dreadful Ainsley Maitland-Niles error allowed the visitors to regain the lead. Bruno Duarte reacted quickest after Davidson’s sizzling shot rattled off the base of the post. The former made no mistake and lashed the ball past the hosts’ keeper.
The second half saw a plethora of chances fall to both sides but neither was able to score until the 80th minute when Nicolas Pepe launched an unstoppable free-kick from 25 yards.
In stoppage time, the Ivorian doubled his tally with an equally brilliant free-kick, thereby sparing Arsenal the blushes and handing them three points.
Here is a look at three reasons that allowed the Gunners to post an unlikely victory.
#3 Arsenal turn the screw in the final quarter of the game
Arsenal came into the encounter boasting a 100% record in the Europa League, having won both their games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Standard Liege. However, they were a far cry from a side sitting atop their group as they contrived to pull off a diabolical first-half display.
The Gunners were guilty of misplacing several passes and that invited the visitors to capitalise. Vitoria did so and made the net ripple twice in an absorbing opening period.
The away side continued in a similar vein after the restart as they scythed through Arsenal’s defensive block frequently and fashioned openings for themselves. However, they failed to build on their lead, meaning that they left the back door open for the Gunners to barge through.
In the final quarter of the game, the hosts attacked with more purpose and seemed a lot more energetic, in stark contrast to what they produced earlier in the game. Consequently, they started weaving pretty patterns in midfield and starved the visitors of possession too.
The same enabled them to tire the away side, turn the screw methodically and put Vitoria under significant strife. Ultimately, that allowed the Gunners to strike late in the game and conjure a victory, despite clearly being second-best for large stretches of the encounter.
Yet, with Unai Emery under such pressure himself, he wouldn’t really mind the nature of the victory, as long as they keep racking them up.
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#2 Vitoria SC let their foot off the pedal marginally
Vitoria SC started the encounter extremely well and their bravery and courage on the ball stunned Arsenal. The visitors weren’t afraid to pile numbers forward while attacking and that put the Gunners on the back foot almost instantly. Subsequently, the Portuguese side propelled itself into the lead in the 8th minute.
Though the hosts pulled a goal back a couple of minutes after the half-hour mark, Vitoria quickly regained their composure to restore their advantage. Thereafter, they kept pressing for goals with Davidson coming close on a few occasions.
However, once Arsenal began traversing on an upward trajectory, the visitors slightly retreated into their shell, meaning that they were deprived of the ball and were forced to chase after it.
Unsurprisingly, a bit of anxiety and exhaustion started creeping into Vitoria’s play as they conceded a host of fouls, offensively and defensively. Moreover, their attack failed to muster enough of a threat, thereby enabling the home side to not worry too much about the visitors scoring again.
Throughout the game, the away side were pretty spotless as they imposed their identity on the match, establishing a firm footing in the process. However, when push came to shove, they showcased their lack of big-game experience, thereby allowing Arsenal a route into the game, despite the Gunners not deserving it.
And, unfortunately, Vitoria learnt that football is indeed a cruel sport and they were dealt that lesson quite harshly on Thursday.
#1 Nicolas Pepe announces himself in an Arsenal shirt
Over the summer, Arsenal took countless football fanatics aback when they hatched a plan to sign Nicolas Pepe, a highly sought-after winger who had been on the radar of quite a few top European clubs.
Consequently, his acquisition was greeted with extraordinary positive furore as Gooners braced themselves for an exciting front trio of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Pepe. However, the Ivorian failed to hit the ground running, meaning that several fans were left questioning if the forward was worth all the hype and of course, the money.
Additionally, a string of poor displays against Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur stoked the fire of Pepe not being capable of carving a niche in the Premier League. Yet, on Thursday, the Ivorian quelled those fears to an extent as he came off the bench and inspired an improbable comeback.
Throughout his stint on the pitch, the forward was a bundle of energy and looked extremely sharp. His first real contribution came in the 80th minute though, when he curled in a sumptuous free-kick from the right-sided channel.
A few minutes later, the Ivorian repeated the dose, albeit from a slightly different angle. While the forward went for the far post for his first goal, he struck a sublime near-post free-kick for his second, thereby showcasing the various strings to his bow.
Thus, in a 15-minute cameo, Pepe had reminded the world of his abilities and his hunger to succeed on the continental stage. And, though he still has many peaks to scale before justifying his hefty transfer fee, he wouldn’t really mind performances of such an ilk.
