MX23RW : Wednesday, March 12 14:25:27| >> :120:4894:4894:

Bukayo Saka insists Arsenal will "definitely" go through if chances are taken

The Gunners drew 1-1 in the first leg on Thursday night as Bukayo Saka's sixth goal of the season cancelled out Pizzi's penalty.

Bukayo Saka insists Arsenal will progress in the Europa League if they repeat their performance against Benfica and take their chances in the second leg of their round-of-32 clash.

The Gunners drew 1-1 in the first leg on Thursday night as Saka's sixth goal of the season cancelled out Pizzi's penalty.

The game was played in Rome's Stadio Olimpico due to current coronavirus travel restrictions – with Arsenal's 'home' leg next week taking place in Athens.

Saka tucked home a Cedric Soares cross less than three minutes after Mikel Arteta's side had fallen behind, although captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a number of good chances to give Arsenal the advantage.

Asked if Arsenal should take confidence from the performance in Rome, Saka told the club's official website: "Yes, 100 per cent.

"If we play like that again then I feel like we just need to take our chances and we'll definitely go through to the next round.

"We felt like we had the game in our hands from start to finish, we dominated them and we just needed to put our chances away.

"We conceded a goal that I didn't think was a penalty, but that's all they really created in the whole game. I think we dominated the game and we deserved more."

With the tie finely poised, Arsenal face the unusual situation of hosting their home leg at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece – with away goals still a factor across the tie.

The Giorgios Karaiskakis Stadium will host the second leg of Arsenal's Europa League tie.
The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium will host the second leg of Arsenal's Europa League tie (Nick Mashiter/PA)

"I am positive," Arteta insisted when asked about the second leg.

"It's really difficult to see what the 'home' game is going to be like.

"We're going to be playing in Greece with no crowd and everything will be a bit strange but we're going to go there to win the game."

ID:435892: cacheID:435892:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:12064:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in the Europa League on February 18, 2021
Read Next:
Mikel Arteta vows to "protect" Bukayo Saka
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal281510352242855
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest28156745331251
4Chelsea28147753361749
5Manchester CityMan City28145953381547
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton28121064640646
8Aston Villa2912984145-445
9Bournemouth28128847341344
10Fulham2811984138342
11Crystal Palace2810993633339
12Brentford28115124844438
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs281041455411434
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd2897123440-634
15Everton2871293135-433
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2896133248-1633
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2865173857-1923
18Ipswich TownIpswich2838172658-3217
19Leicester CityLeicester2845192562-3717
20Southampton2823232068-489


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!