CSKA Moscow 2-2 Arsenal (Agg 3-6): Gunners reach Europa League semi-finals after draw in MoscowBy Michael Hincks
Last Updated: 12/04/18 10:18pm
Arsenal advanced to the Europa League semi-finals after a 2-2 draw at CSKA Moscow handed Arsene Wenger's side a 6-3 aggregate victory.
CSKA were looking to become just the second team to overturn a three-goal first-leg deficit in the Europa League knockout stages, and gave themselves hope when Kirill Nababkin (50) added to Fedor Chalov's opener (39).
One more unanswered goal would have sent CSKA through, but Danny Welbeck sprung up with Arsenal's first shot on target (75) to quell the comeback before Aaron Ramsey scored an equaliser late on (90+2) - both superbly assisted by Mohamed Elneny.
Looking to build on last week's first-leg double, Alexandre Lacazette went closest in the opening half-hour with an attempt which was blocked behind for a corner.
However, CSKA started to believe the comeback was on just before half-time, with Chalov reacting quickest to tap in the rebound after Petr Cech saved well from Nababkin's header.
With the wind in their sails, the hosts pushed for a second before half-time, and went within a yard of doing so when Kristijan Bistrovic's powerful long-range effort sailed narrowly wide.
Five minutes into the second half, CSKA moved within one goal of a semi-final spot when Cech parried Aleksandr Golovin's dipping effort into the path of Nababkin.
Arsenal's sole flash of brilliance put the tie beyond CSKA's reach, as Welbeck played a tidy one-two with Elneny before slotting his effort beyond Igor Akinfeev.
Welbeck's goal deflated the hosts, and Ramsey piled on the woe with an injury-time leveller as the Gunners reached a first semi-final in Europe since the Champions League in 2009.
http://www.skysports.com/football/cska-mosc-vs-arsenal/388731
