Europa League: Arsenal hammer CSKA to move towards semis

Arsenals French striker Alexandre Lacazette celebrates after scoring their second goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League first leg quarterfinal football match between Arsenal and CSKA Moscow at the Emirates Stadium in London PicAFPArsenal romped towards the Europa League semifinals with a 41 thrashing of CSKA Moscow on Thursday in a match devoid of any of the political tension that threatened to overshadow the tie due to frosty relations between London and the Russian capital Britain has suspended highlevel diplomatic contact with the Russian government after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent in the southern English city of Salisbury last month However with only around 200 CSKA fans making the long journey west there was little bad blood inside the ground for the quarterfinal first legAnd Arsenal quickly ended any doubt over the contest on the field as Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette both scored twice in the first half to surely put the tie out of CKSAs reach It was a spectacular first half played at a high pace but as well an uncomfortable one for me because they looked dangerous said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger By halftime we scored so many great goals in the first half at 41 the target was not to concede anymore and maybe score one more We did the first part of the job but not the second part But it will help us to focus completely in the second game and not go there thinking it is job done It remains to be seen if a more hostile atmosphere awaits Arsenal fans and players in the Russian capital next week However CSKA coach Viktor Goncharenko encouraged the Gunners support and England fans travelling for the World Cup in June to visit Russia We still welcome you in Moscow said GoncharenkoWe can assure you there will be great stadiums and great football Please come to Russia Languishing in sixth in the Premier League 13 points adrift of the top four Arsenals last realistic hope of qualifying for next seasons Champions League is by winning the Europa League in Lyon on May 16 And that desperation showed in a thrilling fourgoal first 45 minutes Ramsey opened the scoring by rounding off a fine team move on nine minutes by firing Hector Bellerins cross into the roof of the net While CSKA were unable to cope with Arsenals speed of thought and movement at the back they exposed the Gunners own defensive weaknesses Aleksandr Golovin curled home a wonderful freekick after haphazard defending from Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny to level six minutes later before Ahmed Musa passed up a huge chance to put CSKA in frontAtletico in Arsenals wayArsenal got the slice of fortune they needed when Mesut Ozil was controversially awarded a penalty as he fell under Georgi Schennikovs challenge Lacazette has endured a frustrating debut season at the Emirates but made the most of the cuptied PierreEmerick Aubameyangs absence by confidently slamming home from the spot Ramsey then doubled his tally for the evening in style with an audacious flick over Igor Akinfeev with the outside of his foot to give Arsenal some breathing space from a teasing Ozil cross Ozil was again the creator when Lacazette also grabbed a double by shooting into the far corner for his first goal from open play in nearly three monthsArsenal are likely to have to beat the might of Atletico Madrid to end their season on a high though as the favourites for the competition eased past Sporting Lisbon 20 in the first leg of their quarterfinal Koke put the 2012 winners ahead in the Spanish capital after just 22 seconds and Antoine Griezmanns 24th goal of the season put Diego Simeones men on the brink of a fifth European semifinal in his seven seasons in charge Elsewhere Lazio edged a sixgoal thriller 42 against Salzburg as all four home sides took an advantage into the second leg RB Leipzig lead French giants Marseille 10 as German international striker Timo Werner got the only goal for the Bundesliga sideCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever