Arsenal came from behind to seal their place in the last-16 of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, defeating Benfica 3-2 in Athens to secure an aggregate victory of 4-3.
Despite taking the lead through skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to put the Gunners 2-1 up on aggregate, Benfica came roaring back thanks to goals from Diogo Goncalves, who bent home a sublime free-kick, and Rafa Silva, leaving Arsenal with a mountain to climb.
But when Mikel Arteta needed his players to stand up and be counted for most, they duly obliged. Kieran Tierney fired home the equaliser with a low drive, making it 2-2 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.
However, Arsenal still needed another goal to progress to the next phase of the competition. With just three minutes to go, the goal they desperately craved arrived, with Aubameyang nodding home Bukayo Saka's pinpoint cross to spark dramatic scenes.
On his side's late heroics, Arteta, addressing the media in his post-match press conference, said: "It keeps the season going in a much better way. This competition is going to help the Premier League for sure, to maintain everybody together, to have something to play for.
"Today, it would have been really harsh with what has happened in the two legs to be out of the competition. So I’m extremely happy to be through."
And it appears as though it wasn't just Arteta that was thrilled by Arsenal keeping their European dream alive as a whole host of members of the squad have celebrated progressing to the last-16, joining the likes of Manchester United and north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in today's draw.
Here, football.london has taken a close look at how some of the Gunners' stars have reacted to last night's victory in Greece.
Arsenal will discover their opponents for the last-16 when the draw is made on Friday lunchtime.
The draw is unseeded, meaning Arsenal could face any of the other 15 clubs remaining in the competition, including United and Spurs.
