Arsenal Survives at the Top of the Standings, These are some Interesting Facts that Happened in the Arsenal Vs Vitoria Match

DBasia.news –  In the third match of Group F, Friday (25/10) at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal managed to strengthen their position at the top of the 2019-2020 Europa League standings. in that match, Arsenal managed to beat Vitoria with a score of 3-2.

Arsenal wiped out three matches with victories in the Europa League group F, winning nine points, and being above Eintracht Frankfurt (six points), Standard Liege (three points), and Vitoria (no points).

Unai Emery’s three Arsenal goals were scored by Gabriel Martinelli (32 ‘) and two goals by Nicolas Pepe (80’ and 90 + 2 ‘), who responded to goals from Marcus Edwards (8’) and Bruno Duarte (36 ‘). This five-goal drama happened unexpectedly.

“I think we deserved to win, but they played really well. We know each Portuguese team is very organized and they also have a good structure, with good players,” Emery said on Arsenal’s official website.

“For 90 minutes, we suffered more in the first half and this was beyond our expectation. We lost a lot of balls in midfield and gave them a chance to make the transition to score and start winning games. In the second half, I think we controlled the game better. “

Nicolas Pepe, 24, was the savior of his team. As if proving his worth of £ 72 million, the club’s transfer record, Pepe became a super-sub when he entered in the 75th minute and scored two goals from a free kick.

For the first time since February 2013, Pepe became the first player to score two goals from a free kick.

“Pepe is the first player to score two goals from a free kick in a Europa League match since Luis Suarez for Liverpool vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg in February 2013,” wrote the statistics as quoted by BBC Sports said.

Emery added, the two goals were expected to increase Pepe’s confidence, which was recently highlighted because of his official tag.

“These (two goals) are important for Pepe. He receives the confidence from tonight’s game. When he scores goals, its good for him and the team. He is getting better, playing minutes, matches and scoring goals like tonight “He helped us win the game tonight,” Emery stated.

Apart from the two goals from Nicolas Pepe’s free kick, there are six other statistics from the match. These are the following:

1. Arsenal have won seven home games in a row in European competition (not including qualifications) for the first time since February 2002.

2. Arsenal were undefeated in the last six home matches when against teams from Portugal (five wins and one draw), scoring 20 goals and conceding two goals.

3. Vitoria Guimaraes is without a win in eight Europa League away games (two draws and six defeats).

4. Edwards’ goal in the eighth minute was Arsenal’s fastest goal in European competition. Finally, Edinson Cavani scored after 42 seconds for PSG in September 2016.

5. Edwards became the first English player to score a goal for a non-English team against an English team in Europe. Finally, Ben Wright did it for Viking FK against Chelsea in 2002 in the UEFA Cup.

6. Martinelli has been involved in six goals out of three times playing a starter for Arsenal in all competitions (scoring five goals and giving an assist).