Arsenal are in full control of their Europa League fate as they head into their second leg with AC Milan on Thursday night with a two-goal advantage, after beating the Rossoneri 2-0 last week at the San Siro.
Goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey handed the Gunners the advantage and they followed up their victory with a rare Premier League clean sheet and a 3-0 win on Sunday against Watford. Shkodran Mustafi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan fired Arsene Wenger’s side to a much-needed win in the league, after a string of poor results which further increased pressure on the manager. They still sit in sixth place in the league, eight points behind Chelsea and five ahead of Burnley, with eight games of the season left to play.
After losing to Arsenal on Thursday, AC Milan returned to winning ways in Serie A at the weekend with a 1-0 win away at Genoa. However, it took Gattuso’s side until the 94th minute for Andre Silva to score the winner. Like Arsenal, they sit in sixth place in Serie A, unbeaten in their last six league games with five wins.
Arsenal vs. AC Milan Predictions
Although the tie looks to be all but over, that’s not always the case with Arsenal and they’re very capable of undoing all their good work from the first leg. That unpredictability makes it very difficult to see which way this game will go, but they’ll be eager to put on a good show in front of their home support. The Europa League is their only chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, which shows exactly where they are as a club right now.
Arsenal vs. AC Milan Betting Tips
Head to Head
- The clubs have met twice in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, Arsenal winning in 2007/08 (0-0 home, 2-0 away) and Milan prevailing in 2011/12 (4-0 home, 0-3 away). Arsene Wenger was in charge of the Gunners for both ties, his current opposite number Gattuso playing in 2007/08.
- Milan have the upper hand overall, having defeated Arsenal 2-0 on aggregate in February 1995 in the UEFA Super Cup, drawing 0-0 in London before a 2-0 win in Italy.
- Arsenal have an encouraging home record against Italian visitors (W9 D4 L2). They have won five of their last six matches against Serie A opposition in north London, drawing the other.
- Milan have one victory to their name in 16 matches away from home against English clubs, losing on nine occasions and failing to score on their last three visits.
- Arsenal have lost their last six European home games in the spring, conceding 17 goals. Their last knockout phase win at the Emirates Stadium was that 3-0 success against Milan.
- The north London side have gone out of Europe at the round of 16 stage in each of the last seven seasons, all in the Champions League.
- Milan were unbeaten in their first nine European matches this season, winning seven of them all under Vincenzo Montella.
- On the five occasions that Arsenal have won the away first leg 2-0, they have followed it up each time with a home win. Indeed, the only goal they have conceded in any of those second-leg successes came in their last such fixture, a 3-1 victory over Celtic in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League play-offs.
- This is the only round of 16 tie between two teams who have never previously played at this stage of the UEFA Europa League.
- Arsenal’s tally of six wins in this season’s UEFA Europa League, group stage to final, is the joint highest in the competition, along with Lyon and Zenit.
Arsenal Team News
Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal missed Sunday’s game against Watford, but both are expected to return on Thursday. Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi are doubts, while Danny Welbeck is expected to start upfront again, with Alexandre Lacazette injured and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cup-tied.
AC Milan Team News
Andrea Conti again misses out, as does Ignazio Abate, but apart from that, Milan aren’t expected to change too much, and they’ll keep their 4-3-3 formation.