WHAT HAPPENED
Goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Willock secured us a comfortable win in Kiev - and top spot in our Europa League group.
This trip unfolded in extraordinary circumstances after Uefa moved the match from Poltava to the Ukrainian capital in the wake of martial law being imposed in some areas of the country.
But the game itself was pretty ordinary - and rather one-sided.
Vorskla actually started the brighter of the teams and might even have led if Iurii Kolomeots had taken a presentable chance.
But he didn’t and the door soon closed on their dreams of a famous scalp.
Eddie Nketiah - on his full debut - and Aaron Ramsey were the architects of our opener. They linked up neatly outside the area and exchanged passes again inside the box before Nketiah lost his bearings.
Fortunately the ball ran kindly for Smith Rowe and he found the net.
Emile Smith Rowe form stat
Ramsey was instrumental in the second. It was his neat turn inside the box that drew a careless foul, and his crisp finish to the goalkeeper’s left that doubled our lead from the penalty spot.
That was effectively that as far as the contest was concerned. Now it was a case of staying professional while trying to embellish the goal difference.
Willock produced the finish of the night to make it 3-0.
Limping slightly from a tackle moments before, he was returning to his position on the left when Mohamed Elneny broke up a Vorskla move and instantly fed his fellow midfielder.
Willock was quickly closed down but calmly curled a low effort inside the far post from the edge of the box.
Joe Willock celebrates his goal
A very belated offside flag denied Smith Rowe a second in the second half, so centre stage went to three debutants - Zech Medley, Bukayo Saka and Charlie Gilmour.
They came on for Rob Holding, Ramsey and Matteo Guendouzi, substitutions made no doubt with the north London derby in mind.
Saka almost crowned his big moment with an even bigger moment, darting through and outfoxing a defender before forcing a smart save.
No matter. He and his fellow debutants won’t forget this in a hurry - and neither will the away fans who made the convoluted trip from London, to Poltava, and on to Kiev to be here.
HOW IT HAPPENED
See how our win in Kiev unfolded with our play-by-play commentary
FIVE THINGS WE NOTICED
Read our in-depth analysis of the win in Kiev - and some of the biggest talking points - right here.
WHAT IT MEANS
This win guarantees us top spot in our Europa League group.
We’ll go into next month’s draw for the last 32 knowing that we will not face another group winner - and our second leg will be at home.
TEAM NEWS
Unai Emery made 10 changes for this game, rotating his squad ahead of huge Premier League games against Tottenham and Manchester United.
Nketiah was given his first senior start and fellow academy graduates Willock and Smith Rowe filled the wide attacking positions.
Carl Jenkinson slotted in at centre back alongside Holding, and Petr Cech returned to the side.
The bench was packed with academy talent - and three of them would make their debuts.
WHAT’S NEXT
It’s the big one - the north London derby against Tottenham at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Don’t miss our comprehensive build-up on Arsenal.com.
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