Arsenal continued their fine form in Europe, rounding off their Europa League group stage campaign with a 4-2 win over Dundalk on Thursday evening. With qualification to the next knockout rounds already secured, Mikel Arteta fielded a couple of fringe players in Dublin, and the lads did not disappoint. Victory ensured the Gunners finished off the group phase with a 100% record.
Arsenal took the lead through Eddie Nketiah early in the match, clipping a shot past Dundalk goalie Gary Rogers. Mohamed Elneny scored a superb second for the Gunners before the hosts pulled one back through Jordan Flores whose stunning angled strike was the highlight of the match. No wonder he is among the nominees for this year’s Puskas awards.
Dundalk’s Jordan Flores has just come off the bench against Arsenal…
The same Jordan Flores that can do this 🤯#UEL #ARSDUN pic.twitter.com/rkyPn9Hrr4
— GOAL (@goal) October 29, 2020
Joe Willock restored the visitors’ two goal advantage midway through the second half and 19 year old Folarin Balogun added his name to the scoresheet after coming on as a substitute for the impressive Nketiah. Sean Hoare scored Dundalk’s second goal 5 minutes before the 90.
Full time: Dundalk 2-4 Arsenal
Six games. Six wins.
Onto the knockout stages ✊#UEL
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 10, 2020
It was a good display by both teams on what was a muddy pitch in the Aviva Stadium. The Irish side gave their best but were unable to pick up their first Europa League points of the campaign. It was also their last game of the season after they won the Irish FA cup on Sunday, beating Shamrock 4-2 in the finals.
Gunners await draws
Arsenal will know their next European opponents when the Europa League round of 32 draws takes place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Monday afternoon following the conclusion of the Champions League round of 16 draws. The Gunners will be seeded during the draw. They host Burnley on Sunday night in the Premier League.
