Arsenal have maintained their 100% record in the Europa League so far, with a 3-0 victory over Dundalk at the Emirates.
The Irish side started the match brightly, forcing our goalkeeper into an early save, and while our side started slowly, we grew into a controlling position after the half-hour mark.
Arsenal were not pushing the task too hard, waiting for their chances to arise, and that is just what happened.
Eddie Nketiah found himself surrounded by Dundalk players as a corner has clattered into space, and he made no mistake of getting it into the net.
We barely had time to celebrate the opener before we had doubled our lead, when Nicolas Pepe’s blocked shot fell into the path of youngster Joe Willock, who fired strongly into the net.
We expected the team to open up in the second half, with the hope that the Irish side would take some chances in hope of getting an unlikely result, but it wasn’t long before Nicolas Pepe had put us three ahead.
The Ivory Coast international blasted a neat right-footed effort out of reach of their goalkeeper, putting the game to bed.
Some players used the advantage to play with more freedom, while our opponents decided enough was enough and attempted to keep the score as it was.
Arsenal will have no reason to complain, getting the result they wanted, but fans will have wanted more goals in what turned out to be a comfortable victory.
Should the team have gone out to get a big morale boosting victory, or was there no need to risk injury and effort with the big game against Manchester United only days away?
Patrick
