Home SPORTS Nwaneri Shines as Arsenal Secure UCL Round of 16 Berth

Nwaneri Shines as Arsenal Secure UCL Round of 16 Berth

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Arsenal secured a 2-1 win over Girona in the UEFA Champions League, advancing to the knockout stage and extending their unbeaten away run to nine games. Get the latest UCL updates, match highlights, and results.



Arsenal secured a 2-1 win over Girona in the UEFA Champions League, advancing to the round of 16 and extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches. Despite both teams having little to play for, the first half was eventful, with the visitors creating the first chance inside four minutes. Raheem Sterling turned nicely before firing just wide of the far post.


Arsenal continued to create opportunities, with Leandro Trossard missing a glorious chance moments later. He failed to connect properly in front of goal, and the ball bounced wide. The Gunners thought they had taken the lead on 12 minutes, but Riccardo Calafiori's goal was denied by the offside flag after a lovely finish at an acute angle.


Girona started to gain momentum in the half, and they took a surprise lead through Arnaut Danjuma, a former Tottenham player, just before the half-hour mark. Danjuma's goal gave Girona a shock advantage, setting up an intriguing second half.


Girona took a surprise lead when Arnaut Danjuma ran in behind the Arsenal defense and shot first-time past Neto, who was caught out of position on his Arsenal debut. However, Mikel Arteta's men responded well and were awarded a penalty 10 minutes later when Thomas Partey was brought down in the box. Jorginho stepped up and slotted the ball coolly past Pau Lopez to level the score.


Arsenal then took the lead before halftime, thanks to a brilliant strike from Ethan Nwaneri. The young midfielder cut inside and struck the ball into the bottom corner for his first UEFA Champions League goal. Leandro Trossard almost made it three in quick succession, but his shot from a tight angle struck the underside of the crossbar.



The Gunners carried their momentum into the second half and almost scored a third goal immediately. Alejandro Frances nearly sliced the ball into his own net, and from the resulting corner, Nwaneri's ball was only stopped from going straight in by his own teammate, Jurrien Timber. Nwaneri continued to impress, gliding across the pitch and almost scoring a brace with a half-volley that flashed inches wide.


Despite Arsenal's dominance, they were almost caught out by a Girona counter-attack. Two substitutes combined for what they thought was an equalizer, but Christhian Stuani's goal was disallowed for offside. Arsenal were awarded another penalty in stoppage time when Frances handled Raheem Sterling's attempted pass, but Jorginho saw his effort saved from the spot. Nevertheless, the Gunners held on for victory, extending their impressive unbeaten away run to nine games across all competitions.




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