UEFA Europa League
Result: Östersunds 0-3 Arsenal
Date: 15 February 2018
Venue: Jamtkraft Arena
Arsenal have one foot in the next round of the UEFA Europa League after defeating Östersunds 3-0 in their Last 32 first-leg tie.
The Gunners broke the deadlock on 13 minutes when Nacho Monreal slotted home from close range after goalkeeper Aly Keita failed to hold onto Alex Iwobi's tame strike. The lead was doubled on 24 minutes when Sotirios Papagiannopoulos diverted the ball into his own net following a cross from Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Ostersunds carved out of their first opening four minutes later as Gero sent a close range header straight at Davide Ospina. The hosts did ended the half on a stronger note, but they could not bypass the Gunners defence and went into the break trailing by two goals. The Gunners bagged a thid goal in the 58th minute when Mkhitaryan teed up Mesut Ozil, who sent a low effort into the far corner. Arsene Wenger opted for a change on 72 minutes as Monreal was replaced by Sead Kolašinac in a like-for-like switch. The Gunners continued to push for more goals as the second half but they were let down by the decision-making in the final third. Ostersunds were awarded a penalty in second-half stoppage time following a foul from Hector Bellerin. Tom Pettersson stepped up but saw his spot-kick saved by Ospina as the clash ended 3-0.
