Match report
Full-time: CSKA 2-2 Arsenal (agg: 3-6)
Arsenal are into their first European semi-final for nine years and thus their season remains very much alive. They flirted with danger here, falling two goals behind on the night, before Danny Welbeck eased their nerves by scoring a beauty. Ramsey topped off a satisfying night with another goal in stoppage time. They will have to improve to get through the semi-finals, where they will meet one of Marseille, Atletico Madrid or Salzburg. Here are today’s other results:
Marseille 5-2 RB Leipzig (agg: 6-4)
Sporting 1-0 Atletico Madrid (agg: 1-2)
Salzburg 4-1 Lazio (agg: 6-5)
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GOAL! CSKA 2-2 Arsenal (agg:3-6) (Ramsey 90+2)
Elneny claims another assist, slipping a pass through to Ramsey , who eat the offside trap and then chips the advancing goalkeeper. Arsenal are into the semi-finals!
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90+1 min: On another Arsenal counter, Ramsey rolls the ball to his right so that Welbeck can fire off a shot on the run. He bangs it off from 18 yards. But the keeper bats it away.
90 min: There will be at least three more minutes. There is no sign that Arsenal are going to do anything ridiculous during that time.
88 min: Koscielny clears a tame cross. All belief has drained from CSKA. Arsenal bound forward and see if they can help themselves to another goal. Ozil presents Iwobi with an ideal chance to do exactly that, but Iwobi shanks a sidefooter from 12 yards, sending it wide by almost as much.
86 min: Welbeck is everywhere now. All Arsenal’s attacks are revolving around him, and even CSKA’s attempted clearances are tending to find him.
84 min: Iwobi leads a counter-attack. He sends it wide to Ozil on the left. The German’s cross it put behind for a corner. Ozil delivers an out-swinger. Chambers gets his nut to it near the penalty spot, but it’s an easy save for the keeper.
82 min: Nababkin flings in a long throw. That triggers momentary chaos in the Arsenal box, until the ref blows for a foul on Monreal.
80 min: That goal by Welbeck was so good that it may help make up Gareth Southgate’s mind about taking him back to Russia for the World Cup.
CSKA substitution: Milanov on, Chalow off. “You’ll be delighted to learn that the German for ‘phew’ is ‘puh!’,” reports Dominik Wallerius.
Arsenal substitution: Iwobi on, Lacazette off after an ineffective display.
GOAL! CSKA 2-1 Arsenal (3-5) (Welbeck 76)
That’s a superb goal! After a prolonged Arsenel possession play, Welbeck beat Nababkin with a wonderful turn wide on the left and then swapped passes with Elneny and curled an excellent finish into the far corner from 12 yards. Marvelous work by Welbeck and that should seal a place in the semi-final!
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74 min: Welbeck wins a freekick mid-way inside the CSKa half. Ozil floats it into the box. Iganshevich heads it back out.
72 min: Golovin overhits a cross, giving an increasingly wobbly Arsenal a moment to try to steady themselves.
CSKA substitution: Natcho on, Bistrovic off.
70 min: Panicky defending by Arsenal. Elneny garryowens the ball out of his box. Ozil ducks to avoid the dropping ball. Iganshevich, of all people, pounces on it and cracks off a fierce low shot from 25 yards. It whizzes just past the post!
66 min: Ozil swings over a corner. It’s flicked on (by Mustafi?). Koscielny, tries to slash it into the net at the back post but he’s off balance and can’t keep the shot down.
Arsenal substitution: Chambers on, Wilshere off. The midfielder isn’t limping but may still have a sore ankle following that accident in the first half. Or maybe he was withdrawn because he kept giving the ball away in the second half.
65 min: A lucky ricochet off the referee puts Arsenal into an attacking position! Ozil’s shot is blocked but he fights to force a corner. “I hope these last couple of years at Arsenal won’t cloud over the fact that Petr Cech has been one of the greatest goalkeepers over the last two decades,” says Upender. “Only Buffon, Neur, Casillas, De Gea and Van der Sar have been better.” Yes, he was superb. He’s dwindling now, alas.
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63 min: Wilshere gives the ball in midfield. CSKA romp forward. Then they slow down and probe. But Arsenal regrouped well to close down any openings.
61 min: Penalty!? The crowd yelp with glee after the ref points to the spot when Musa goes down under an untidy challenge by Mustafi. But it turns out the ref was not point to the spot, he was signalling for a goal kick. What’s the German for ‘phew’?
59 min: Elneny seems to have gone back into the defence again. He seems to have been assigned, of is treating himself to, a floating role. But this avant-garde approach isn’t making Arsenal any more secure...
57 min: Elneny guides a lovely header into the bottom corner of the net! But the goal is correctly ruled out for offside.
57 min: Elneny appears to have gone back into midfield. The back five wheeze lasted 10 minutes.
56 min: Arsenal steady themselves with some confidence-building passing in the opposing half. They don’t threaten to break through but at least they don’t break down.
55 min: Ozil darts past V Berezutski deep in his own half. The centreback makes sure Ozil doesn’t go on to start a counter-attack by chopping him down. He’s lucky not to be shown a yellow card.
53 min: Golovin curls the freekick over the wall and towards the bottom far corner. Cech dives like a felled tree and paws it around the post.
52 min: Ramsey concedes a freekick by tripping Golovin. It’s about 22 yards out, to the left ...
GOAL! CSKA 2-0 Arsenal (agg: 3-4) (Nababkin 49)
Oh Arsenal! Golovin let fly with a swirling shot from 30 yards, Cech couldn’t hold it and doesn’t manage to push it very far away. Nababkin reacts faster than Monreal and lashes the bouncing ball into the net from a difficult angle!
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49 min: Vitinho receives the ball in the box, does a little spin and clips it towards Chalov in the centre. Monreal heads it away.
47 min: CSKA have more zip in their play already. Elneny seems to have dropped deeper for Arsenal, serving now as a third centreback. Arsenal, then, have switched into holding mode. Which is not to be confused with Holding mode.
46 min: The teams are back on the pitch, including Wilshere.
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Here are the half-time scores from the other quarter-finals:
Marseille 3-1 RB Leipzig (agg: 3-2)
Sporting 1-0 Atletico Madrid (agg: 1-2)
Salzburg 0-0 Lazio (agg: 2-4)
Half-time: CSKA 1-0 (Agg: 2-4)
The visitors are in danger of Arsenaling this up. They were on easy street for most of the match but ended up conceding a goal and becoming ragged. Suddenly their path to the semi-finals looks a lot more awkward than it should have done. CSKA have got their danders up and look dangerous going forward. And Wilshere limped down the tunnel at the break with a sore ankle: he may not return for the second half.
45+3 min: Wilshere attempts to play a one-two. His pass is poor ... and then he goes down and appeals for treatment. He looks in pain and is clutching his left ankle. No one touched him but perhaps he rolled it?
45+1 min: Ramsey is back on. There will be at least three more minutes in this half.
45 min: CSKA are playing with renewed confidence. They work the ball beautifully behind the Arsenal defence. Bistrovic cuts the ball back across the face of goal from the right. And Monreal wellies it clear before Musa can pounce!
44 min: Arsenal, so comfortable for much of the match, are flailing a little now, looking a tad ragged, especially with Ramsey still off the pitch.
43 min: A CSKA corner is cleared as far as the edge of the box. Bistrovic wraps his right foot around it and tries to guide it towards the top corner. he misses by a yard!
41 min: There’s a pause in play because Ramsey is down in need of treatment after mist-timing a tackle on Bistorvic. The boos from the home crowd suggest they think he’s trying to waste time and and interrupt CSKA’s momentum. But the Welshman is carried off on a stretcher to receive treatment.
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GOAL! CSKA 1-0 Arsenal (agg: 2-4) (Chalov 39)
Straight after losing Dzagoev, CSKA get themselves back into the tie! Kuchaev sent over a cross from the left. Monreal was outjumped by Nababkin, whose header was parried by Cech. Chalow reacted quicker than Mustafi and hammered the ball into the net from close range!
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CSKA substitution: Vitinho on, Dzagoev off. CSKA’s best player has to withdraw because of an injury, though I can’t tell you what is wrong with him.
37 min: Golovin fluffs a chance at one end - failing to get off a shot after dashing into a good position - and then Arsenal hare down the other end and create an opening of their own. Welbeck sends a low ball across the face of goal ... just beyond Ozil.
35 min: A fast break by Arsenal. Ozil feeds Lacazette, who tries to roll a pass into the path of Ramsey. If he gets to it, he’ll have a free shot from eight yards! But Akinfeev scurries off his line to snatch it first.
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34 min: Akinfeev hoofs the ball downfield. Musa does well to get it under controls and then runs at the Arsenal defence. But Mustafi blocks his shot.
32 min: Golovin pulls backs Wilshere, perhaps because he saw Arsenal’s game against Southampton last weekend and thinks Wilshere approves of that sort of thing. But the ref doesn’t, and he awards a freekick about 30 yards out. Arsenal make a mess of it.
30 min: Arsenal sit deep and allow CSKA to knock the ball around impotently in front of them. This is match is no thriller, but Wenger will be satisfied with how comfortable his team look.
27 min: Following a fine move y CSKA, Dzagoev finds space at the edge of the D and opens fire. Koscielny makes a fine block. And suddenly Arsenal are raiding forward! Lacazette unloads one from 20 yards. But V Berezutski does a Koscielny, jumping in front of the shot to make a good block.
25 min: Bellerin scoots down the right, nips a pass in to Ramsey and dashes forward in anticipation of the return. But Ramsey went for a flashy flick and got it wrong. CSKA have the ball back.
23 min: Ozil supplies Lacazette, running down the left. The Frenchman tries to dig out a centre for Welbeck. But instead he presents the ball to the goalkeeper.
21 min: Bistrovic tries his luck from long range. Don’t bother doing the lottery tonight, Kristijan.
19 min: Ozil botches a freekick, hitting it straight at the first defenders as his team-mates waited for a delivery in the box. But to the German’s credit, he then sprinted 30 yards back to regain possession, catching up with the speedy Musa, no less.
18 min: Bellerin wins a corner for Arsenal after being put in by Ozil, who’s starting to pull strings in the opposing half. But his corner isn’t up to much.
15 min: Ramsey slides a pass through to Welbeck, whose first touch is hefty. Had he taken that pass in his stride he would have been able to sprint past Iganshevic and through on goal.
13 min: A poor defensive header by Koscielny puts Arsenal under pressure. But Dzagoev relieves it by over-hitting his cross. Mustafi should head the ball into Koscileny’s face to wake him up.
12 min: CSKA build nicely down the right, Nababkin and Musa swapping clever passes. Nababkin then tries to slip a through-ball in to Dzagoev, but Monreal intercets.
10 min: Koscielny gets sloppy on half-way. CSKA take advantage and launch an attack, winning a freekick near the right-hand corner flag when Elneny handles. The freekick is headed clear.
8 min: Kuchaev sends over a hopeful cross from the left. Mustafi dives to clear, heading it upwards into Wilshere’s face. Wilshere goes down in and medics rush on to treat him. He soon gets back to his feet but looks a little groggy. You get the impression it’s going to take something freakish for CSKA to get back into this game, and maybe that little incident is the sign that things are about to get odd?
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6 min: Cech sends a long ball forward for Lacazette to chase. But one of the Berezutskis beats him to it and clears.
5 min: It’s been a cosy start for Arsenal. The game is generally proceeding at quite leisurely pace and Arsenal are having plenty of the ball.
3 min: Despite the feats this week of Roma and Juve, there’s no early storm from CSKA: theirs is a slightly more cautious approach. Having said that, Cech has just had to charge off his line to intercept an intended pass to Musa, who had darted in on the wrong side of Mustafi.
1 min: CSKA set the ball rolling. The stadium is full and loud!
CSKA are in blue jerseys with red shorts and socks. Arsenal are in their usual kit. And the giant screens around the ground are showing pictures of Yuri Gargarin to encourage CSKA to boldly go in search of an unlikely victory.
The teams eventually stride out on to the pitch after Arsenal kept the home team waiting in the tunnel. You show ‘em who’s boss, Arsène!
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The TV pundits keep describing CSKA’s back three as “ageing”, which invites the question: who is not ageing?
“Why isn’t Mkhitaryan even in the squad, this is ridiculous!” fumes David Thompson. He has a knee injury, David. And Xhaka has the flu.
Here, in case you’re interested, is today’s Fiver, featuring the lowdown on Gigi Buffon’s meltdown.
“I’m an Arsenal supporter,” confesses Nelson Kalberer. “Even so, I’m going to say that we lose but still go through to the semis. If we don’t go through, I’ll eat my shoe.” Is it a loafer?
Around 300 Arsenal fans have travelled to this match and, according to Robbie Savage on BT, many of them were fraternising happily with CSKA supporters in Red Square this afternoon. What is more, they’ve all been presented with traditional Russian hats to keep them warm during the match. A lovely touch, and Arsenal are probably feeling a little embarrassed that hand out bowlers to all the CSKA fans who visited London last week.
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“Ah! The Berezutski twins are in,” yelps Charles Antaki. “I know nothing about them other than they are rather hulking and slow, and that various Guardian writers assure us that their combined age is over 100. So yes, there is a good chance that Arsenal will get past them to score the one or two goals that will make the tie safe. But as you rightly warn, look what happened earlier this week; and as Arsenal fans will add, remember that this is Arsenal.” Those Berezutski lads are not as old as you think: they’re 35, mere pups compared to their fellow centreback Ignashevich, who’s 38, older than today’s referee (who’s 36, if you must know).
Wenger speaks
Here’s what the Arsenal manager has said about his team’s approach: ““I think the best way for us is just to play to win the game. Mentally we have to be in a high place. We have an opportunity to go into the semi-final so all we have to think about is to win and go through.”
And here’s what he says about the overall atmosphere in Moscow. “Surprisingly peaceful. Everybody is very nice and you cannot feel any tension at all. The conditions were perfect last night [when they trained at the ground].”
Arsenal make two changes to the side that started in the first leg, with Elneny and Welbeck replacing Xhaka and Mkhitaryan. Ther are three alterations to CSKA’s side, as Bistrovic, Natcho and Chalov come in – those changes are in all midfield, where CSKA were decent last week – their problems were all in defence. Chalov helped earn his place by scoring in the weekend’s in the derby defeat by Dinamo.
CSKA: Akinfeev; Ignashevich, A Berezutski, V Berezutski; Nababkin, Golovin, Bistrovic, Dzagoev, Kuchaev; Chalov, Musa
Subs: Pomazun, Milanov, Vitinho, Schennikov, Natcho, Zhamaletdinov, Khosonov
Arsenal: Cech; Bllerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Elneny, Wilshere; Welbeck, Ozil; Lacazette
Subs: Macey, Mertesacker, Holding, Iwobi, Chambers, Kolasinac Nketiah
Referee: F Zwayer (Germany)
Preamble
After what the Champions League has thrown up this week and, indeed, some of Arsenal’s away performances this season, who amongst us is willing to say that CSKA Moscow have no chance of turning this tie around? Arsène Wenger’s team lead 4-1 from the first leg so have one foot in their first European semi-final for nine years – but that does not mean they are incapable of tripping up.
Having said that, CSKA have not been particularly strong at home in Europe this season, already losing to Manchester United, Basel and Lyon. And Arsenal are the Europa’s League’s top scorers and were clearly superior in London last week: their defence wobbled at times but CSKA’s was far worse in the face of Arsenal’s rapid attacking. So, all things considered, CSKA actually have no chance of turning this tie around. You see if I’m wrong.
But even if the contest seems over, this match may be welcomed as an opportunity to improve Anglo-Russian relations in some small way at this time of high tension. Let’s hope everyone gets along nicely in and around the stadium today.
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