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Full-time score: Milan 0-2 Arsenal
Goalscorers: Henrikh Mkhitaryan 15', Aaron Ramsey 45+3'
Arsenal put an end to Milan's 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions with a commanding 2-0 win over the Serie A giants at the San Siro in their Europa League tie last night. The Gunners needed a victory at any cost to keep their season alive after a disappointing run of results saw them lose all of their previous four games.
Milan started the game with more intent but failed to put their chances to bed and paid the price for the same when Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored against the run of play in the 15th minute to break the deadlock. Arsenal slowly took control of the game and extended their lead just before the half-time break through Aaron Ramsey, who rounded the keeper and found the back of the net after being sent through on goal by the visitors' creator in chief on the night Mesut Ozil.
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Arsene Wenger's men have a healthy advantage heading into the second leg at home next week and on that note, let's take a closer look at how the players from both sides fared under the lights at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza:
AC Milan
Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6/10
The Italian could not do an awful lot for the goals and was beaten twice in the first half, thanks to a deflected shot from Mkhitaryan and clever thinking from Ramsey. He had a decent game otherwise and never looked like committing any errors.
Davide Calabria - 5/10
Calabria was made to work his socks off by Mkhitaryan, who ran riot on the flanks for Arsenal on the night. The right-back was pegged back to his own half for the majority of the game and enjoyed very little involvement while going forward.
Leonardo Bonucci - 6/10
Milan's skipper was confident on the ball and trusted his abilities to play out from the back more often than not. Bonucci also emerged as a potential threat from set-pieces but he failed to inspire his side to turn the tide in their favour. Unlucky ricochet in the build-up to the first goal would disappoint him.
Alessio Romagnoli - 6/10
Romagnoli had a fairly smooth game against the Gunners alongside Bonucci at the heart of the Milan defence. The defender failed to prevent Arsenal from scoring but he did well to resist the threat offered by Danny Welbeck on the night.
Ricardo Rodriguez - 5/10
The Swiss international did not have the best of games especially because he was forced to stay put in his own half for large periods in the game. Rodriguez His strengths are going forward but Arsenal's attacking presence didn't allow him to do that.
Franck Kessie - 6/10
Kessie was part of a midfield three that was completely outdone by Arsenal on the night and struggled to track the runs of Ramsey and Wilshere from midfield. The Ivorian failed to stamp his authority on the game and faded off eventually.
Lucas Biglia - 6/10
The Argentine was perhaps better than the two other players deployed alongside him by Gennaro Gattuso on the night. Biglia was strong on the ball and was always trying to act as the catalyst to bring Milan back to the game.
Giacomo Bonaventura - 5/10
Bonaventura had a disappointing night, to say the least, plenty of misplaced passes and he showed little confidence on the ball. The midfielder was a shadow of his usual self and will be looking for a better output in the second leg.
Suso - 6/10
Suso was considered one of the key players but the former Liverpool winger failed to provide any sort of creativity for the team on the night. The Spaniard had a bright start to the game but he failed to keep it up and hardly caused the Arsenal defence any problems.
Patrick Cutrone - 5/10
The striker will feel that he should've done better with the opportunities that fell kindly to him in the first few minutes of the game. Cutrone failed to utilise the opening and was left to rue his misses by the end of the game.
Hakan Calhanoglu - 6/10
The Turkish international was not at his influential best for the hosts as they struggled for creativity and flair inside the final third for a majority of the game. His performance in the second half didn't improve as he was one of the first players to be withdrawn in the second half.
Substitutes
Nikola Kalinic - 5/10
The Croatian replaced Calhanoglu just after the hour mark and failed to deliver what was expected of him in the first place.
Andre Silva - 5/10
Milan's leading scorer in the tournament this year watched on from the sidelines until the 68th minute when he came off the bench to replace Cutrone. However, Silva failed to get Milan back on track.
Fabio Borini - N/A
The Italian replaced Calabria in the 80th minute and was provided with too little time to make an impact on the game.
Arsenal
David Ospina - 7/10
The Colombian managed to do well after replacing Petr Cech in the starting line-up for this crunch tie against Milan. Ospina was strong between the sticks and was quick to come out of his line whenever he sensed a danger. A well deserved clean sheet.
Calum Chambers - 7/10
Apart from missing out on the ball in the build-up to a Milan opportunity that was squandered by Bonaventura early on in the first half, Chambers did not have a lot of blips in the game. The defender did well to get forward on a number of occasions and he even registered a shot on target.
Shkodran Mustafi - 7/10
Despite showing the tendency to commit an error every now and then in recent games, Mustafi looked solid on the night and established a strong partnership with Koscielny at the heart of the Arsenal defence and came away with a clean sheet in the end.
Laurent Koscielny - 8/10
The Arsenal skipper responded from his horror show in recent weeks against Manchester City and Brighton with a commanding performance at the back for the visitors. Koscielny was comfortable on the ball and did well to protect the interest of his teammates on the pitch.
Sead Kolasinac - 7/10
Kolasinac managed to do a decent job before being withdrawn after what looked like a minor niggle, one Arsenal would like to assess as soon as they can. The Bosnian worked tirelessly on the flanks for Arsenal.
Granit Xhaka - 7/10
A rare occasion for Xhaka who actually tracked the opposition runners who crossed his path at some point during the game. The midfielder managed to stay focused throughout the game and avoided any silly mistakes.
Aaron Ramsey - 8/10
Ramsey was a driving force in midfield for the Gunners and he put them in the driving seat with a well-taken goal right at the edge of half-time. The Welshman was involved at the heart of everything that Arsenal created on the night and the performance will be a huge boost for him as well as the fans.
Jack Wilshere - 8/10
Wilshere has proved yet again that everytime he puts on the Arsenal shirt, he will not be shy about giving his everything to the cause and he did the same against Milan. The midfielder was at it from the word go and showed his passion right from the start.
Mesut Ozil - 9/10
Ozil was the creative influx behind Arsenal's success on the night and he was duly rewarded with both the assists from the game. The German's reputation of going missing when the going gets tough needs to change and performances like these can be a huge boost.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 8/10
The ball might have ricocheted off Bonucci on its way to the back of the net but what a time to score his first goal for the club. Mkhitaryan caused all kinds of problems to Milan on the night and he was denied a second by the crossbar.
Danny Welbeck - 6/10
Welbeck's goal-scoring abilities are looking rather rusty at this point in time and he could not do a lot to help it either. The Englishman worked hard and helped created space for Arsenal's creative players like Ozil and Mkhitaryan to run riot against the hosts but his finishing was poor.
Substitutes
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 6/10
Maitland-Niles replaced Kolasinac in the second half and slotted in perfectly to the Arsenal defence that did well to keep an important clean sheet on the night.
Rob Holding - 6/10
Holding was introduced in the 79th minute for Mesut Ozil to try and effectively see off the game and it worked perfectly for the Gunners.
Mohamed Elneny - N/A
Came on in the 85th minute to replace Chambers.
