Slavia Praha 0-4 Arsenal (agg: 1-5): Arsenal cruise into semi-finals

Three goals in seven first-half minutes fired an impressive Arsenal side into the semi-finals for the second time in three seasons.

Match in brief

After the late drama of the first leg, Arsenal brushed Slavia Praha aside courtesy of a first-half blitz.

Nicolas Pépé enjoys his goal in PragueArsenal FC via Getty Images

Emile Smith Rowe had a goal ruled out for offside before setting up Nicolas Pépé for the opener. Alexandre Lacazette then tucked away a penalty after Bukayo Saka had been fouled, with Saka firing in the third.

Lacazette put the gloss on a professional performance with a well-taken fourth as the Gunners cruised into the last four, where they will face former boss Unai Emery's Villarreal.

Ondřej Zlámal, Slavia Praha reporter

Slavia can leave the competition with their heads held high. They qualified from a very tough group, eliminated Leicester and Rangers and eventually crashed out against a very focused Arsenal, who were simply too good in this second leg. But the Czech champions will have picked up a lot of invaluable experience for their next European adventure.

Samantha Miller, Arsenal reporter

Arsenal proved they can be the big guns of this competition after putting on an emphatic display. They started the game with a real intent to get an early goal, and though a first was ruled offside, that simply added fuel to the fire. The Gunners had shown they meant business after conceding a late leveller in the first leg, and they never looked back after getting the opener. Dominant throughout, Mikel Arteta's side were clinical with their finishing.

Reaction

Bukayo Saka, Arsenal winger: "It was fantastic from start to finish. We are really happy to progress. I think we showed real character. We kept going, we were really strong in the first half and pretty much killed the game."

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager: "We started the game really well in a really convincing way, really aggressive in our high press. We looked a threat every time we were attacking. We scored a goal that was disallowed and I really liked the reaction of the team."

Jindřich Trpišovský, Slavia coach: "Arsenal were better in all aspects of the game and deserved to qualify because they were better side in both of the legs; they were more dynamic and faster."

Arsenal will face Villarreal in the semi-finalsAFP via Getty Images

Key stats

• Arsenal have only failed to score in one of their last 28 UEFA Europa League matches.
• Slavia Praha lost at home for the first time in 32 matches, their last home defeat coming against Inter in the UEFA Champions League in November 2019.
• After a goal and assist tonight, Nicolas Pépé has been directly involved in 13 goals in 17 appearances for Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League.
• Slavia had conceded one goal or less in 29 of their previous 31 home games before tonight.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in 12 away games in European competition (W9 D3) – the longest run without a defeat on the road in their history.

Line-ups

Slavia: Kolář; Bah (Višinský 46), Holeš, Bořil (Dorley 46), Zima; Ševčík, Stanciu (Lingr 46), Hromada (Masopust 46), Provod, Olayinka; Kuchta (Tecl 71)

Arsenal: Leno; Chambers, Holding, Pablo Marí, Xhaka; Ceballos, Saka (Martinelli 78), Partey (Cédric 78); Pépé (Balogun 88), Lacazette (Nketiah 78), Smith Rowe (Elneny 67)

What's next

Arsenal now face Villarreal in the semi-finals, with the first leg on 29 April and the return a week later. Before then, the Gunners host Fulham (18/04) and Everton (23/04) in the Premier League.