Benfica hold Arsenal in Italy as the Gunners grab a vital away goal

It took a while for Arsenal to really kick into action against their Portuguese opponents, with Mikel Arteta’s men having to settle for a disappointing 1-1 draw.

The first half was largely dominated by Arsenal, with the away side coasting through the first half an hour without any trouble.

The first big chance of the game fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is no stranger to missing big chances in the knockout stages of this tournament.

The forward was unfortunate enough to miss a huge chance to put the London club through from close range in last year’s competition, as the Gunners were knocked out of the Europa League by Olympiakos on away goals.

The guilt-edged chance came to Aubameyang in the 19th minute as Hector Bellerin slid the ball through to the striker at the back post.

With the goal gaping in front of him, the striker managed to miss the target from only five yards out, as he watched his shot narrowly miss the goal in a situation that looked easier to score than to miss.

The first goal of the game came just after the break from out of nowhere. As Arsenal failed to clear their lines, a cross was whipped in which was blocked by the arm of Emile Smith Rowe in the box with the referee awarding the penalty.

Benfica captain and Europa League top goalscorer this season Pizzi calmly slotted the penalty beyond Bernd Leno into the bottom right of the goal, with the goalkeeper guessing the right way but just failing to prevent the Portuguese side from opening the scoring.

The goal seemed to click Arsenal into gear as it only took two minutes for the visitors to equalise the tie through starlet Bukayo Saka.

A swift, traditional Arsenal counter-attack led to a beautiful low Cedric Soares cross that found the youngster in the box who was never going to miss from close range as he tapped the ball in to level the score.

Arsenal fans will be delighted to see Martin Odegaard able to play 90 minutes for the first time, as he was replaced in added time by Willian.

The Norwegian was a bright spark throughout the game and played varied passes to be admired, most notably a defence-splitting ball leading to the Arsenal goal.

Arteta will be disappointed that his side couldn’t push on for a winner and a second away goal in the game, as they continued to dominate both chances and possession. The 1-1 draw makes for a fascinating second leg to the matchup as Arsenal ‘host’ Benfica in Athens for the second match in a week’s time.

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