The match which was moved from its original venue in Poltava due to security reasons saw the involvement of youth players. Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock were all named in the team which Unai Emery made a lot of changes to.
Cech started in goal while Stephan Lichtsteiner, Carl Jenkinson, Rob Holding and Ainsley Maitland-Niles made the back four. Matteo Guendouzi, Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny also featured while the senior boys were made to cool off the stress in preparation for the North-London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Sujnday.
It would have been strange if the game hadn't been as easy at it was for us. We dominated although the hosts had the best chance to go ahead so early in the game, an opportunity which they blew off and will later regret.
It was not long before Arsenal made a statement and were a goal up in the 11th minute. Ramsey and Nketiah exchanged passes outside and in the box before Smith Rowe came to the rescue to score after Nketiah lost balance. It was the youngster's third goal in his last four appearances in all competitions for Arsenal.
Ramsey was the next to cause jubilation among the traveling fans after converting neatly from the penalty spot having been fouled while making a classy turn in the box and 2-0 was the score in the 27th minute. The boys were not done yet!
A curling shot from the edge of the box few minutes to half time was enough to seal a comfortable win for the Gunners. This time, it was Willock who was instrumental in ensuring that we got a hattrick as a team. Despite being closed down, he kept his calm and got a deserved goal following the reception of the ball from Elneny who interrupted a Vorskla move.
It could have been four but the offside flag denied Smith Rowe his second for the night. We didn't have to feel bad. We aren't greedy. Three pies were enough for us to chew.
Debut substitution appearances were given to U23 players:Â Zech Medley, Bukayo Saka and Charlie Gilmour as Holding, Ramsey and Guendouzi had to go off probably as a precaution ahead of the tough fixtures ahead.
That victory sealed our eighteenth game unbeaten in all competitions and gave us a guaranteed top spot finish in our group.
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