The Gunners arrived at the San Siro at arguably the lowest point of manager Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign, yet responded to a run of four straight defeats with a confident and controlled display against their Italian hosts.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first goal for the club put the Premier League side ahead, cutting in from the left to fire in with the aid of a deflection off Milan skipper Leonardo Bonucci.

Wenger spoke before the game about his team showing fight without compromising their attacking principles – and they delivered in a dominant first-half performance.

Aaron Ramsey deservedly doubled their lead before half-time, collecting Mesut Ozil’s piercing pass through the centre of Milan’s defence to round keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and tap in.

Milan tried to up the tempo after the break, wasting a clear early chance to pull one back when Giacomo Bonaventura spooned over the bar.

But Arsenal were largely unruffled from then on, limiting the home side to half chances with a solid defensive effort.

The two away goals now make the Gunners firm favourites to reach the quarter-finals after next Thursday’s second leg at Emirates Stadium.

Awesome Arsenal forget recent struggles

Arsenal travelled to Italy looking for respite from a torrid recent run during which the north London club have lost four straight games for the first time since October 2002.

A toxic atmosphere has been hanging over the club as fans continue to turn against Wenger, with 88% of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust’s (AST) 1,000 members voting this week in favour of the 68-year-old Frenchman’s contract being terminated at the end of the season.

Few of the 2,000 or so Gunners fans who travelled to the San Siro would have been confident of seeing a positive performance.

But they watched a display containing commitment and organisation – two qualities sorely lacking in recent weeks – against a Milan side revitalised under Gennaro Gattuso.

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck led the line superbly with his tireless running, allowing Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Ramsey to find space from deeper positions when the team attacked.

And defensively, they worked hard as a unit – marshalled by skipper Laurent Koscielny – to deny Milan space in attacking areas.

Arsenal’s problems are not going to be masked by one good result.

However, their display could not help but give the impression that, even in their lowest moments, it would be foolish to write off their chances of somehow going on to win the Europa League and secure a route back into the Champions League.

Gattuso’s Milan fail to live up to expectations

Seven-time European champions Milan are a shadow of the force they once were, languishing in seventh place in Serie A despite spending more than £200m last summer in a bid to change their fortunes.

However, they went into Arsenal’s visit on a crest of a wave following the arrival of former midfielder Gattuso.

He has transformed their season since replacing the sacked Vincenzo Montella in November, leading them on a 13-match unbeaten run and giving them faint hope of climbing into Serie A’s European qualification places.

Therefore, there was optimism among the 70,000 Rossoneri fans inside the atmospheric San Siro that Gattuso’s side could make a huge statement in front of a bigger European audience.

It seemed justified as they pinned Arsenal back in the opening few minutes – but that was as difficult as it got for the Gunners.

Arsenal quickly wrestled their way back into the game, their passing and movement causing uncertainty in the Milan defence and their solidity seeing the home attack quickly run out of ideas.

Man of the match – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal)

While Koscielny, Ramsey and Ozil all had strong cases to be named man of the match, Mkhitaryan shaded it after producing one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt.

The Armenia international has showed few flashes of brilliance since arriving from Manchester United in January, but showed his quality in a competition where he has thrived since moving to England.

While Mkhitaryan struggled to make an impact in the Premier League for United last season, he scored six goals – including one in the final – as the Old Trafford club won the Europa League.

In the San Siro, he had already been giving young Milan right-back Davide Calabria a torrid time before putting Arsenal on the path to victory with his first goal for the Gunners.

He should have scored a second, clipping the crossbar shortly before Ramsey doubled the lead.

Nevertheless, Mkhitaryan’s performance offered encouragement to the travelling fans who will want to see him produce similar displays on a more regular basis.

Ozil celebrates Arsenal century – stat attack

• Arsenal earned their first win in the opening leg of a last-16 European tie since February 2011 (2-1 v Barcelona in the Champions League).
• The Gunners are the first side to beat AC Milan at the San Siro in the Europa League/Uefa Cup since February 2002. The Italians had gone 10 games without losing between these defeats.
• Arsenal’s victory ended a run of 13 games without defeat for AC Milan, with their previous loss before this coming back in December against Atalanta in Serie A.
• Ozil has been directly involved in 100 goals in 189 appearances for Arsenal – 37 goals and 63 assists.
• With five goals and nine assists this season, Ozil has had a hand in more goals than any other Arsenal player.
• Arsenal’s opener ended a run of 599 minutes without conceding a goal for AC Milan.

What’s next?

Back to the Premier League for sixth-placed Arsenal. The Gunners, who are 13 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham, host mid-table Watford at the Emirates on Sunday (13:30 GMT).

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Source: BBC Sport

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Former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder Kaka, a 2002 World Cup winner with Brazil, has retired.

The 35-year-old, who began his career in Brazil with Sao Paulo, was most recently with MLS club Orlando City.

Kaka played his final match as Orlando’s season ended in October, and in November was reportedly offered a director role at Serie A club Milan.

He is one of only eight players to win the treble of World Cup, European Cup/Champions League and Ballon d’Or.

A devout Christian, Kaka wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday: “Father, it was much more than I could ever [have] imagined. Thank you! I’m now ready for the next journey. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Renowned for his strong mazy dribbles, his finishing and his creativity in providing goalscoring opportunities for others, Kaka played 92 times for Brazil, scoring 29 times.

Having lifted the World Cup with his country, he won the Champions League with Milan in 2007 and the Ballon d’Or, awarded to the world’s best player, in the same year.

He was arguably at his prime during the six years he spent with the Italian giants between 2003 and 2009, during which time he also won the Serie A title in 2004 and the Club World Cup in 2007.

After joining Madrid in a then-world record £56m deal in June 2009, Kaka won the Copa del Rey in 2011, adding the league title a year later.

Having struggled with a series of knee injuries, Kaka returned to Milan for one season in 2013 before leaving for Orlando the following year.

The other seven players to have won the World Cup, European Cup or Champions League and Ballon d’Or are: Bobby Charlton, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.

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Source: BBC Sport

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The club are seventh in Serie A on 20 points, 18 behind leaders Napoli, after a run of only two league victories in their past nine games.

They drew 0-0 with Torino at home on Sunday and have lost six of their 14 top-flight matches this season.

Gattuso, a former AC Milan midfielder, steps up from managing the club’s youth side.

The 39-year-old Italian played for Milan between 1999 and 2013, winning the Serie A title and the Champions League twice.

He will appear at a news conference at their Milanello training ground on Tuesday.

Following his sacking, Montella posted a statement on social media in which he said it had been an “honour” to have coached the side.

AC Milan, who have won the Italian title 18 times and are seven-time European champions, have not finished in the top three in Serie A since 2013.

They have spent £205m on new signings since Chinese businessman Li Yonghong took control in April last year.

“We are very grateful to Mr Montella and his staff for all the work done up to today, their commitment and professionalism,” said an AC Milan statement.

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Source: BBC

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