Last night, Arsenal got a thrilling victory on Europe League. It was the third round for group F and the opponent was Vitoria SC from Portugal. The Brazilian defender Gabriel Martinelli and the Ivorian Pépé were the scorers, thanks to this victory, the reds are now on the lead of the group. On the other side, the Portuguese team continues to be in last place with three defeats in three games.
Despite the history of the visitor team, the game wasn’t easy. It started with a lot of action, Marcus Edwards opened the service with a goal on minute eight. Arsenal took twenty minutes to tie the game, the Brazilian defender Gabriel Martinelli jumped higher than the whole defence, and with a header put the ball inside the goal causing the fans at Emirates to go crazy. The joy was short lived, four minutes after the Arsenal goal, another Brazilian scored, Bruno Duarte took advantage of the ball that hit the post and put Vitoria again in front.
After the break, the score remained the same, only after the last change from Unai Emery, the team seamed to the team seemed to respond. Five minutes after the substitution, on minute 80, Pepe scored on a perfect free kick and put the game at 2-2. With the help of the crowd, Arsenal started to push the visitor, the final blow came after the regular time, on minute 92, again Pépé on a free-kick turned the counter to Arsenal. 3-2, another victory in the European competition and the feeling that the team is moving in the right direction.
After the game, the top scorer talked having scored twice in the match.
– “I’m having a good time in my career and I’m happy to have scored another goal for Arsenal. But the most important thing was that I was able to help the team win. It was a very difficult game against a qualified opponent, who also played a good game, and that makes our achievement even more valuable. We have a great team, and everyone who comes in can handle it. We’re happy to be able to maintain maximum performance in the competition. Now it’s time to turn our attention to the Premier League,” said Pépé.
Arsenal’s next game is on Sunday against Crystal Palace, the reds need the win to enter the qualifying zone for the next Champions League.