Arsenal secure progression with Molde win

Arsenal beat Molde 3-0 in Norway to secure progression to the knockout rounds of the Europa League with two games to spare.

Arsenal started brightly but let Molde gain a foothold in the game as the first-half developed, culminating in a massive chance for Sinyan a yard out from goal after 15 minutes.

The ball was played across to him and he slid in to reach the ball a yard out from goal. It was easier to score than miss but he could only play it across the goal-line and the scores stayed level at 0-0.

The Gunners kicked on in the second-half and Nicolas Pepe brought a cross down to curl a superb effort into the top corner.

It wasn't long before Reiss Nelson tapped home inside the six-yard box from a fizzed Joe Willock cross to double the Arsenal lead and set them on course for victory.

The game died out from there on in until the 83rd minute. Folarin Balogun came on to replace Alexandre Lacazette and scored superbly. He controlled an Emile Smith-Rowe pass with his first touch of the game and turned on a sixpence before firing a deflected effort into the back of the net.

Arsenal went on to win with ease and guarantee themselves a place in the round-of-32 with two rounds of fixtures yet to be played, a crucially important milestone given the extreme fixture congestion in the Premier League as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mikel Arteta will be delighted to be able to take the coming games as opportunities to give vital experience to youngsters and rest his biggest stars.