Mkhitaryan celebrates with team-mates after scoring his side’s opening goal
AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal (6pm)
Mkhitaryan scores first Arsenal goal (15)
Ramsey rounds Donnarumma (45+4)
Welbeck starts in attack
Ramsey, Ospina return
AC Milan unchanged
First leg at the San Siro
Europa League last 16
Aaron Ramsey says Arsenal’s 2-0 win over AC Milan at San Siro proved they have “plenty of characters” in the team.
The Gunners ended their four-game losing streak in all competitions with an impressive victory in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie with the Serie A side.
First-half goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, his maiden effort for the club, and Ramsey were enough to put the visitors in a commanding position ahead of the return game at the Emirates Stadium and reduce some of the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal’s poor recent form has prompted criticism of the mentality within the squad, and Ramsey believes Thursday’s win was an ideal response.
“We started well, we got a couple of goals in the first half. We showed we have plenty of characters in this team,” he told BT Sport.
“It’s never easy to come to San Siro and play AC Milan; I know from past experience. I’m really pleased that we came here and we got the win.
“I think we played very well in the first half, we created many opportunities and moved the ball well. Second half, we wanted to protect it a bit more, and we kept a clean sheet, which is always important.
“We’ve been on a bad run and sometimes, as hard as you try out on the pitch, it doesn’t seem to work. But we’re trying hard and we tried to do the right things. We know what we’re capable of.
“A lot of people are always going to talk – it’s their job to talk. It’s important for us to keep focused and try and improve. We know what we’re capable of doing and we just have to produce that more consistently.
“It’s nice that we’ve turned a little corner.”
Pre Match Report
The Gunners are looking to keep their season alive Thursday with their visit the San Siro.
Arsene Wenger’s men travel to Italy on the back of four straight defeats in all competitions.
Having lost to Tottenham, Man City and, most recently, Brighton in the league, their chances of Champions League qualification via the Premier League have all but ended.
It seems that winning Europa League is now their only hope of gaining qualification for Europe’s elite competition.
However, the Gunners will meet a rejuvenated AC Milan side, who have improved immensely since club legend Gennaro Gattuso has taken the reins. The Rossoneri are in the midst of their best unbeaten run in nine years, having won six of their last seven Serie A matches.
AC MILAN TEAM NEWS
Team to face Arsenal: Donnarumma, Calabria, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez, Biglia, Bonaventura, Kessie, Calhanoglu, Suso, Cutrone.
David Ospina replaces Petr Cech in goal for Arsenal, while Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck replace the cup-tied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Iwobi, who drops down to the bench.
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS
Team to face AC Milan: Ospina, Chambers, Koscielny, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck.
Arsene Wenger insists winning the Europa League is an opportunity Arsenal must grab and has called on his players to step up as they look to stop their season petering out with two months of the campaign remaining.
“It makes me think about last year,” Wenger replied, when asked if having a trophy to play for was similar to last season’s run to a third FA Cup success in four years.
“Last year we won the FA Cup, we made 75 points and missed out on the Champions League by one point. 75 points is still a very good score what we will not reach this season. This is an opportunity we have to take, yes, of course.
“It increases the pressure on it even more on this competition. At the moment, it is certainly difficult when you go through a patch like that but I believe as well it is a good opportunity to show you have the quality and the strengths. You can only show that when it is difficult. It is a good opportunity to show we can deal with that and as well, on the longer term, it will make the team even stronger.”
MILAN UNCHANGED
AC Milan are unchanged from the side that drew 0-0 with Lazio in the Coppa Italia just over a week ago.
Milan went on to win the game on penalties.
This is the first meeting between Milan and Arsenal since the 2011-12 Champions League campaign, when they met in the Last 16; Milan won 4-3 on aggregate, winning 4-0 at the San Siro in the first leg before losing 3-0 at the Emirates in the second leg.
Aaron Ramsey says Arsenal’s 2-0 win over AC Milan at San Siro proved they have “plenty of characters” in the team.
The Gunners ended their four-game losing streak in all competitions with an impressive victory in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie with the Serie A side.
First-half goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, his maiden effort for the club, and Ramsey were enough to put the visitors in a commanding position ahead of the return game at the Emirates Stadium and reduce some of the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal’s poor recent form has prompted criticism of the mentality within the squad, and Ramsey believes Thursday’s win was an ideal response.
“We started well, we got a couple of goals in the first half. We showed we have plenty of characters in this team,” he told BT Sport.
“It’s never easy to come to San Siro and play AC Milan; I know from past experience. I’m really pleased that we came here and we got the win.
“I think we played very well in the first half, we created many opportunities and moved the ball well. Second half, we wanted to protect it a bit more, and we kept a clean sheet, which is always important.
“We’ve been on a bad run and sometimes, as hard as you try out on the pitch, it doesn’t seem to work. But we’re trying hard and we tried to do the right things. We know what we’re capable of.
“A lot of people are always going to talk – it’s their job to talk. It’s important for us to keep focused and try and improve. We know what we’re capable of doing and we just have to produce that more consistently.
“It’s nice that we’ve turned a little corner.”
Pre Match Report
The Gunners are looking to keep their season alive Thursday with their visit the San Siro.
Arsene Wenger’s men travel to Italy on the back of four straight defeats in all competitions.
Having lost to Tottenham, Man City and, most recently, Brighton in the league, their chances of Champions League qualification via the Premier League have all but ended.
It seems that winning Europa League is now their only hope of gaining qualification for Europe’s elite competition.
However, the Gunners will meet a rejuvenated AC Milan side, who have improved immensely since club legend Gennaro Gattuso has taken the reins. The Rossoneri are in the midst of their best unbeaten run in nine years, having won six of their last seven Serie A matches.
AC MILAN TEAM NEWS
Team to face Arsenal: Donnarumma, Calabria, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez, Biglia, Bonaventura, Kessie, Calhanoglu, Suso, Cutrone.
Subs: Kalinic, Silva, Borini, Zapata, Montolivo, Locatelli, Donnarumma.
THREE CHANGES FOR ARSENAL
David Ospina replaces Petr Cech in goal for Arsenal, while Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck replace the cup-tied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Iwobi, who drops down to the bench.
Team to face AC Milan: Ospina, Chambers, Koscielny, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck.
Subs: Cech, Holding, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Iwobi, Nelson, Nketiah.
Arsene Wenger insists winning the Europa League is an opportunity Arsenal must grab and has called on his players to step up as they look to stop their season petering out with two months of the campaign remaining.
“It makes me think about last year,” Wenger replied, when asked if having a trophy to play for was similar to last season’s run to a third FA Cup success in four years.
“Last year we won the FA Cup, we made 75 points and missed out on the Champions League by one point. 75 points is still a very good score what we will not reach this season. This is an opportunity we have to take, yes, of course.
“It increases the pressure on it even more on this competition. At the moment, it is certainly difficult when you go through a patch like that but I believe as well it is a good opportunity to show you have the quality and the strengths. You can only show that when it is difficult. It is a good opportunity to show we can deal with that and as well, on the longer term, it will make the team even stronger.”
MILAN UNCHANGED
AC Milan are unchanged from the side that drew 0-0 with Lazio in the Coppa Italia just over a week ago.
Milan went on to win the game on penalties.
This is the first meeting between Milan and Arsenal since the 2011-12 Champions League campaign, when they met in the Last 16; Milan won 4-3 on aggregate, winning 4-0 at the San Siro in the first leg before losing 3-0 at the Emirates in the second leg.