And with that, I’m gone. It’s been invigorating. Bye!
A much-changed and extremely youthful Arsenal side cantered to victory in the hastily-relocated Europa League tie against Vorskla in Kyiv
Thu 29 Nov 2018 15.01 EST
First published on Thu 29 Nov 2018 11.45 ESTLive feed
Here’s the Press Association’s hot take on the Arsenal game:
Arsenal secured top spot in their Europa League group as a much-changed side coasted to a 3-0 Europa League victory against Vorskla Poltava in sub-zero Kiev.
The Group E fixture was moved 185 miles east [editor’s note: it’s actually west] of Poltava to the capital’s Olympic Stadium, with parts of Ukraine under martial law as political tensions with Russia continue to rise.
The call to relocate the game was made on Tuesday evening, with Vorskla particularly unhappy with Uefa’s decision and official confirmation that the match would take place at all not coming from the governing body until six hours before kick-off.
Any inconvenience for Unai Emery and his players did not show as youngsters Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock scored either side of an Aaron Ramsey penalty to confirm a win in temperatures that dropped as low as minus 10 degrees.
The last English side to play in the Olympic Stadium were Liverpool as they lost last season’s Champions League final to Real Madrid but this contest - watched by a minimal crowd - was never going to live up to such an occasion.
Arsenal handed a first start to teenage striker Eddie Nketiah as Emery made 10 changes, with only Rob Holding retaining his place from Sunday’s Premier League win at Bournemouth.
Academy graduate Willock was also given a rare chance to impress as Ainsley Maitland-Niles started for the first time since the opening day of the season, while Petr Cech returned in goal to captain the Gunners.
It was Vorskla who crafted the first half-chance of the evening, Iurli Kolomoets firing over from an acute angle after latching onto a free-kick before Cech fumbled a long-range effort from Volodymyr Chesnakov as the nominal home side started brightly.
That early work was undone as Smith Rowe handed Arsenal an 11th-minute lead, turning home at the back-post after smart work from both Ramsey and Nketiah.
Ramsey doubled the advantage shortly before the half-hour mark as he won and converted a penalty - the Wales international going down after minimal contact from Vorskla defender Igor Perduta before coolly converting the spot-kick.
The points, and first place in the group, were sealed when Willock tucked home his first senior goal after latching onto Mohamed Elneny’s pass.
Nketiah drew a save out of Bohdan Shust at the start of the second half, with Smith Rowe seeing a second of the night eventually ruled out for offside after he turned home Stephan Lichtsteiner’s deflected cross.
Emery used the opportunity to blood more academy talent as Zech Medley, Bukayo Sako and Charlie Gilmour were introduced from the bench on a night where Arsenal got the job done despite all the uncertainty over the game.
Topping the group ensures the Gunners will be seeded for the round-of-32 draw and will face a runner-up from another Europa League group or one of the four sides with the worst records who drop down from the Champions League.
This match is over but the night is still young, and Paul Doyle is all over Chelsea v PAOK:
So Arsenal and Sporting both qualify from Group E, and given Arsenal’s better head-to-head record against the Portuguese they will win the group and can play as many promising teenagers as they like when they host Qarabag in their final game in a fortnight.
Talking of wildly one-sided matches, Sporting have won 6-1 at Qarabag.
Final score: Vorskla 0-3 Arsenal
90+4 mins: And that’s it! Arsenal were red hot in the ice cold, and cantered to victory in a wildly one-sided match.
90+3 mins: Now Vorskla attack, and the ball is passed to Careca, in a bit too much space 20 yards from goal, but his shot curls well wide.
90+2 mins: Good late high pressing from Arsenal eventually wins the ball back, and Elneny passes to Nketiah who gets into the area, spins and sends a left-foot shot across goal and wide.
90+1 mins: There will be some four minutes of stoppage time, and they start with an Arsenal corner.
90 mins: Another Arsenal chance: Saka passes to Willock, who sees the goalkeeper advancing and shoots straight into him rather than lifting it over the top.
89 mins: Arsenal’s lead on shots is only 12-11, but the majority of Vorskla’s have been from distance, and absolutely dire. They have only had two shots on target.
86 mins: The physio is on, with Willock a bit ball-dazed.
85 mins: Nketiah weaves his way to the byline on the right and blasts the ball across goal. Perduta tries to clear, but blasts the ball into the face of the onrushing Willock, and it bounces wide.
81 mins: Chesnakov has a wild shot from range. In fact the ball hit Jenkinson in the arm rather than the face, but his arm was covering his chest and there was no arm-to-ball movement, so the penalty appeals were rebuffed.
80 mins: Vorskla somehow fail to convert an excellent position into a shot on target, with Careca getting the ball stuck between his feet and when it breaks to a team-mate, the shot hits Jenkinson in the face.
79 mins: It would be fair to say that this game is lacking somewhat in competitive edge.
77 mins: Nketiah bursts down the left, leaves the defence eating dust and then messes up his pass inside and Vorskla clear.
77 mins: Arsenal’s final change sees them bring Gilmour on for Guendouzi.
75 mins: Cech though is having his busiest spell of the match. This time he races from his area to clear a through-ball.
74 mins: Shust is in action again, this time saving from Saka, who controls nicely, shuffles the ball away from his feet and then shoots at the near post.
72 mins: Kolomoets is booked for tripping Maitland-Niles.
71 mins: Chances for both teams, and saves from both keepers! Perduta has a great chance for Vorskla but Cech comes out to get his body in the way, and then Arsenal run down the other end and Smith-Rowe has an effort beaten away.
70 mins: Bad news for upset fans: Milan, who were 2-1 down at home to Luxembourg no-hopers Dudelange with half an hour to play, have come back to lead 3-2.
68 mins: A second Arsenal substitution sees Ramsey trudge off, and Saka come on.
67 mins: GOAL! No, disallowed! Lichtsteiner crosses from the right, Chesnakov leaves it for Dallku, Dallku leaves it for Chesnakov, and in the end it bounces unmolested through to Smith-Rowe, who converts at the far post. Nketiah though was offside in the middle, and being marked by one of those two, and so it’s chalked off.
64 mins: The referee has just had to exchange his free-kick-assisting pitch-marking spray for one that hasn’t frozen solid. This is not a good sign.
63 mins: Arsenal work Guendouzi into a decent crossing position on the right, but his cross is wildly overhit, and also curls out of play on its way across and out for a throw-in.
60 mins: Zech Medley comes on, making his Arsenal debut in place of Holding.
59 mins: Another Vorskla shot flies well high of goal, though Artur’s 35-yarder was also well wide.
55 mins: Dallku hits a dipping volley from 23 yards, and it would have been an absolute beauty had the goal been another five yards taller.
54 mins: Holding is booked for using his arms when jumping for a header when there were lots of green shirts around.
53 mins: Chance! Willock steals the ball from Artur and plays in Nketiah, whose finish is very weak when he really should have scored.
52 mins: Nketiah runs between two defenders, who pretty much usher him through, but Ramsey is a couple of inches offside when the pass comes.
50 mins: Arsenal look a fine, confident team now. It took a goal or two for the level of their superiority to manifest itself, but it’s now pretty glaring*.
* I apologise in advance for the inevitable Vorskla comeback.
47 mins: Arsenal win a corner, which Holding reaches first and flicks over the bar.
46 mins: Peeeeeep! They’re off! Again!
The players are back out! In other news, Micheal Jacob emails to tell me that Danny John-Jules is Tyreece’s uncle.
“A bit of showbiz trivia for you,” writes Matt Emerson. “Tyreece John-Jules (Arsenal sub tonight) is the son of Danny John-Jules, once of Red Dwarf and recently on Strictly.”
This does appear to be true:
A thoroughly satisfactory half for the away side, who now have 15 minutes of centrally-heated comfort in which to bask in the virtual warmth of a comfortable lead.
Half time: Vorskla 0-3 Arsenal
45+2 mins: Nothing happened.
45+1 mins: There will only be one minute of stoppage time, unless something exciting happens.
45 mins: Elneny gives the ball away this time, hitting it straight into Kulach who then runs away and, from 25 yards and with just empty grass between him and Petr Cech, wildly miscues a shot into the stands.
GOAL! Vorskla 0-3 Arsenal (Willock, 41 mins)
Elneny intercepts the ball in midfield and passes swiftly to Willock, who approaches the area and, with Dallku backing off, curls it deliciously inside the far post!
40 mins: Chesnakov manages to trip Maitland-Niles and Ramsey with the same action on the half-way line, a quite spectacular achievement. The referee only gives one free kick.
39 mins: Vorskla win a free-kick on the right, and though it’s not a very good one Smith-Rowe totally slices his clearance and the ball skims off the top of his foot and only just out of the reach of Kolomoets. Cech collects.
36 mins: An early change for Vorskla: Careca, a burly Brazilian striker, is on, and Sapai is off.
33 mins: Now Nketia runs into the area, Shust hares out into no-man’s land and Nketia spots him off his line, gets over-excited and spears a shot wide.
33 mins: From the free-kick Lichtsteiner plays in Willock, who blasts a shot towards the near-post which Shust saves.