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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Patrick Twumasi scored one and set up another but it could not help his club Astana in their 3-2 loss to Villareal while former AshGold defender Kadiri Mohammed played the full game for Austria Vienna in their 5-1 loss to AC Milan in Italy.

Red Star Belgrade’s Richmond Boakye-Yiadom was substituted after 90 minutes in their goalless draw with BATE Borisov.

Joseph Attamah Larweh and Kassim Nuhu all played 90 minutes for Basaksehir and Young Boys respectively.

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By: Citi Sports

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Boakye-Yiadom played 80 minutes for Red Star Belgrade in their 1-0 loss to Arsenal. He came close to adding to his 31 goals this calendar year but his first half header hit the woodwork. Eventually, Olivier Giroud got Arsenal’s winner after 85 minutes.

Boakye-Yiadom was subbed due to an injury but he confirmed via a tweet that it was not major and he was looking ahead to the return clash in England.

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Patrick Twumasi, who played 90 minutes, was luckier than Boakye-Yiadom on the night as he scored twice for Astana in their 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Astana’s forward from Ghana Patrick Twumasi celebrates a goal during the UEFA Europa League Group A football match between FC Astana and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC at the Astana Arena stadium in Astana on October 19, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STANISLAV FILIPPOV (Image credit: STANISLAV FILIPPOV/AFP/Getty Images)

He got a first half penalty and a close-range finish in the second  before Junior Kabananga got two more to help Astana win the match.

Joseph Attamah Larweh played 90 minutes for Istanbul Basksehir in their 3-1 loss to Hoffenheim. He featured at centre-back but could not save his team from going down to their second loss of the competition.

Kassim Nuhu saw 90 minutes for Swiss side, Young Boys, in their 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev. With the result, Young Boys failed to win their first away match in the UEFA competition in 12 attempts.

Former AshGold defender Kadri Mohammed played 90 minutes for Austria Vienna as they lost 3-1 to Rijeka of Croatia. Mohammed’s team is now 4th in the group and is yet to win a match in the competition.

Mohammed came up against fellow Ghanaian, Maxwell Acosty, who played 79 minutes for Rijeka.

All these players are expected to play for their teams when the competition returns on November 2.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Leading 1-0 from the first leg, United took control as Marouane Fellaini headed home Marcus Rashford’s cross. But Celta, needing two goals, levelled on the night through Facundo Roncaglia to set up a tense final few minutes.

United’s Eric Bailly and Roncaglia were sent off after a mass brawl, and the hosts hung on to reach the final.

Indeed they could only celebrate after Celta striker John Guidetti scuffed a golden chance to put the visitors through to their first major European final with the final kick of the game. The aggregate victory took the Red

Devils a step closer to their first Europa League triumph and a return to the Champions League.

They will meet Ajax, who beat Lyon in the other semi-final, in Stockholm on 24 May.

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Source: BBC

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The Europa League has acquired huge significance for United and manager Jose Mourinho as it offers a potential route into the Champions League, away from the battle for top-four places in the Premier League – making this victory crucial.

United took the lead on the night and in the tie when Henrikh Mkhitaryan drilled in a low finish in the 10th minute but Anderlecht restored parity when Sofiane Hanni scrambled home an equaliser after 32 minutes.

Mourinho’s side were their own worst enemies with a shocking display of finishing as they missed chance after chance, their cause also undermined by injuries to defender Marcos Rojo in the first half and a serious-looking knee injury to top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the end of normal time.

United were facing the prospect of a penalty shootout but Rashford, a scorer against Chelsea at the weekend, made the decisive contribution after 107 minutes with a brilliant turn and finish from Marouane Fellaini’s knockdown.

Do Man Utd still lack killer touch?

Manchester United flirted with an exit from the Europa League here – and if they had gone out they would only have had themselves to blame.

As on so many occasions this season, United created multiple chances only to waste the opportunities and leave themselves hostages to fortune and the threatening counter-attacks of Anderlecht.

Rashford, Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba were all guilty of a succession of bad misses as the flaw that has undermined United all season reared its ugly head once more and kept Anderlecht in contention right until the final whistle in extra time.

On this occasion, at least, United rescued themselves with Rashford’s goal but Mourinho will know his side must discover the killer touch from somewhere if they are to secure the Champions League place that must be the minimum requirement from this season.

Expensive night in victory?

United can celebrate another step towards winning the Europa League and the Champions League place that comes with it – but this may yet prove to be expensive night for Mourinho as the season reaches its climax.

The biggest concern will surround Ibrahimovic, whose knee looked to give way as he challenged for a high ball in the final moments of normal time. He managed to get to his feet and wave away the waiting stretcher but was helped off as he limped down the tunnel at the Stretford End.

Ibrahimovic had actually had a nightmare before his injury but his influence this season has been huge and United will anxiously await the medical update.

Rashford has delivered against Chelsea and here against Anderlecht, offering the pace and movement which the 35-year-old Swede cannot, but the loss of Ibrahimovic would still be a setback of major significance after his 28 goals this season.

And there will be almost equal concern about the injury to Rojo that saw the central defender taken off on a stretcher in the first half. He had received lengthy treatment previously before collapsing in a second challenge. United are already without injured central defenders Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, so they can ill-afford to lose Rojo.

This was a vital victory for Manchester United – but it may yet be victory at a heavy price.

Mourinho still on course

When Mourinho was appointed United manager, it was with the express intention of bringing more trophies to Old Trafford – but also putting the club back in the Champions League.

Mourinho may be taking the scenic route and learning to love a competition he derided for so long, but with the fight for the top four in the Premier League so tight and with United facing tough trips to Manchester City and Arsenal in the run-in, the Europa League provides a welcome safety net.

The poor relation of European football’s competitions has suddenly acquired crucial status at Old Trafford, as the celebrations at the conclusion of extra time proved.

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Source: BBC

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Ibrahimovic’s deflected free-kick wrong-footed goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier and dribbled over the line for the opener, and he tapped home from close range after good work from Marcus Rashford, as well as adding a late penalty.

Saint-Etienne caused United problems on the break in the first 45 minutes, particularly with Romain Hamouma’s pace, while Henri Saivet and Nolan Roux both clipped efforts narrowly off target.

Ruffier’s double save denied Juan Mata and Anthony Martial forced the visiting goalkeeper into sharp saves, while Paul Pogba headed against the crossbar from close range.

The two sides meet for the second leg on Wednesday, 22 February (kick-off 17:00 GMT).

There were question marks over the signing of veteran striker Ibrahimovic on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain in the summer, but the Swede has responded by taking his tally to 23 for the season.

The 35-year-old former Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan man has now netted 17 career hat-tricks. It was his first since joining United, his second in European competition and his third against Saint-Etienne.

“Every time I have played against Saint-Etienne, with hard work there has been a couple of goals,” Ibrahimovic said after the game. “I have scored a couple of goals tonight and hopefully I can do the same next week.”

The Ligue 1 side will be pleased to see the back of Ibrahimovic when he retires having scored 17 times against them during his career.

Ibrahimovic has 11 titles and three domestic cups to his name, but a major European trophy remains missing from his illustrious CV.

Like Ibrahimovic, United have never won this competition, but the result keeps alive their hopes of a cup treble this season. They face Blackburn in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday and Southampton in the EFL Cup final the following week.

In his first season at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho’s side are just two points off a Champions League spot in the league, but triumph in the Europa League would give them an automatic passage through to Europe’s elite club competition.

Against Saint-Etienne, the Red Devils tested Ruffier on numerous occasions but he was left floundering for the first goal, while his parry into the danger area allowed the second.

On the other hand, the Ligue 1 side carved United’s backline open with ease at times, with defender Eric Bailly looking particularly suspect, but they failed to work goalkeeper Sergio Romero into a single save with their 14 shots.

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Source: BBC

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The suspected armed robbers possessed dried leaves believed to be Indian hemp, knives, cutters and other sharp objects.

The Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendant Deborah Addison Campbell said although Dennis Kyeremanteng is a juvenile, his identity has been disclosed because he is an accomplice of a hardened criminal on the police wanted list, Baba Musah.

Baba Musah is been being sought after for various offences including murder and robbery.

“He was sentenced to three months in prison at Kpong Tamale, he however escaped after two months and has since been hiding at Asafo BB were we conducted the raid,” she explained.

The arrests were made when the police made a swoop on the May 20 in some communities in Kumasi.

“They were arrested from various areas within the division; Asafo BB, Adum Railways, Dekyemso,  Alaba, Ashtown,  and Aboabo Post Office areas,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Police Command had early on placed a GH¢2,000 bounty each on four suspected criminals including one Bonti Killer who allegedly shot and killed Kwame Antwi at Ash Town in Kumasi a fortnight ago.

Briefing newsmen over the various arrests made within the different divisional commands on Tuesday, DCOP Kofi Boakye noted that the trend of minors’ involvement in crime in the region indicates the deep seated nature of crime in the region.

He indicated that “this is the first time I am seeing a thirteen year old armed robber who has been on a robbery expedition involving murder and other issues. This is an indication that armed robbery is deep seated in the region and we need the collaborative effort from all stakeholders in order to curb this menace.”

DCOP Kofi Boakye called for support from the public in identifying criminals and to testify during trials to secure quicker and stiffer sentences for the criminals.

He observed that the communal nature of residents of the Ashanti Region puts people in fear of getting attacked by relatives of criminals who get identified during criminal identification parades.

He noted that the phenomenon was hampering the justice system as it deters people from giving evidence and testimonies for the courts to give commensurate sentences to criminals.

DCOP Kofi Boakye said this was the cause of growing recidivism with criminals coming out after short prison sentences to commit more heinous crimes.

By: Afiba Anyanzua Anyanzu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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