Arsenal thrash Slavia Prague to qualify for EL semis, Manchester United defeat Granada

Arsenal handed Czech side Slavia Prague a heavy 4-0 defeat away from home in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarterfinal. The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates in the first leg and came flying out of the blocks and put Slavia to the sword in 6 first half minutes with goals from Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka. Captain on the night, Lacazette added a fourth in the second half to complete a resounding victory for the Gunners and book their passage into the Europa League semifinals with a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Manchester United completed their Europa League semi-final qualification after they defeated Granada 2-0 at Old Trafford and 4-0 on aggregate. Veteran striker Edinson Cavani opened the scoring with a fiercely struck volley that left the goalkeeper rooted to the spot. Their second goal came at a time eerily similar to that of the first leg when Alex Telles whipped in a cross that was diverted into his own net by Jesus Vallejo to make it 2-0 to the Red Devils in the 90th minute.

Nigeria’s Samuel Chukwueze was in action as Villarreal booked their place in the semifinals with a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb at home, completing a 3-1 aggregate triumph. Chukwueze provided an assist as Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno scored for Villarreal, while Mislav Orsic scored for Dinamo Zagreb.

AS Roma triumphed over Ajax in their own quarterfinal tie by an aggregate scoreline of 3-2. The second leg at the Stadio Olimpico ended 1-1 after Edin Dzeko cancelled out Brian Brobbey’s opener to book their semi-final place.

In the semifinals, Arsenal will have to face former boss Unai Emery and his Villarreal side, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Chris Smalling will be back in Manchester for a reunion when AS Roma take on Manchester United for a place in the final.