WHAT HAPPENED
Our season is very much alive after Danny Welbeck scored twice to help us see off Milan to move into the last eight of the Europa League.
So much of the hard work was done in Italy last week but that two-goal gap was perfectly bridgeable, especially after Laurent Koscielny limped off early on.
The first goal in London would either put us in the comfort zone or cause us anxiety - and it was the latter.
What a strike it was though, Hakan Calhanoglu belting a 30-yarder beyond David Ospina’s despairing dive.
Milan’s travelling fans went ballistic and their players sensed a famous comeback. But it was stopped in its tracks by a big decision.
Welbeck went down under a challenge from Ricardo Rodriguez and the goal-line official - standing just yards away - signalled to the referee to award a penalty.
Milan weren’t happy but we were delighted. Welbeck picked himself up to roll a nerveless spot-kick into the corner.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan headed wide and Jack Wilshere stung the palms of Gianluigi Donnarumma as we finished the first half strongly, and the second half was all about doing a solid containment job.
Milan did go close. Suso shot wide, Patrick Cultrone missed acrobatically from 12 yards and Nikola Kalinic fluffed a header.
But we put the tie beyond doubt when Granit Xhaka’s powerful low shot was parried into his own net by Donnarumma.
Welbeck added a late third with a close-range header to complete an emphatic 5-1 aggregate win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
See how the match unfolded and get the standout stats with our play-by-play commentary
WHAT IT MEANS
We’re into the quarter-finals of the Europa League - and the draw takes place on Friday. Scroll down this page to find out who we could face in the next round on April 5 and 12.
WHAT’S NEXT
We’ve got to wait 17 days until our next match because this weekend’s scheduled Premier League trip to Leicester City has been postponed due to the Foxes’ involvement in the Emirates FA Cup.
Our next opponents will be Stoke City at the Emirates on Sunday, April 1.
WHO COULD WE FACE IN EUROPE?
The short answer? Atletico Madrid, Marseille, Lazio, Sporting Lisbon, RB Leipzig, Salzburg or CSKA Moscow.
Here’s how they got through to the quarter-finals:
Lokomotiv Moscow 1-5 Atletico Madrid (1-8 aggregate)
Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Marseille (2-5 agg)
Dynamo Kiev 0-2 Lazio (2-4 agg)
Viktoria Plzen 2-1 Sporting Lisbon (2-3 agg)
Zenit St Petersburg 1-1 RB Leipzig (2-3 agg)
Salzburg 0-0 Borussia Dortmund (2-1 agg)
Lyon 2-3 CSKA Moscow (3-3 agg)
DID YOU KNOW?
- We’ve progressed from each of our 12 previous European knockout ties when we’ve won the first leg away from home (excluding qualifiers)
- We’ve won six and drawn one of our last seven home European matches against Italian opposition, conceding one goal
- No Italian side has ever won an away match in London in the Europa League (P7 W0 D3 L4), with six sides failing to win – AC Milan, Roma, Juventus, Lazio, Inter Milan and Fiorentina (twice)
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been involved in eight goals in his last 13 Europa League matches (seven goals, one assist)
- Milan haven’t recovered from a two-goal first-leg deficit to progress in a European tie since October 1985, when they eliminated Auxerre 4-3 on aggregate in the Uefa Cup
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