Arsenal 2-0 Napoli LIVE: Europa League score and fixtures, Aaron Ramsey GOAL

ARSENAL 2-0 NAPOLI | RAMSEY (14), KOULIBALY OG (24)

Arsenal XI: Cech, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Ramsey, Kolasinac, Ozil, Lacazette, Aubameyang

Napoli XI: Meret, Hysaj, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Callejon, Allan, Fabian, Zielinski, Insigne, Mertens

• Unai Emery makes five changes from Everton defeat

• Lorenzo Insigne returns to the Napoli side after injury

• Aaron Ramsey opens the scoring – Lacazette assist

• Koulibaly deflects Torreira’s effort beyond Meret to double Arsenal’s lead

ARSENAL 1-0 NAPOLI

44: Another update, another effort from Unai Emery’s side.

Mesut Ozil plays a diagonal ball through that Aubameyang just about prevents from spilling over the byline. The penalty area is crowded so his improvised flick is caught by Meret.

41: Whoosh! Arsenal are relentless here. Quite staggering to see this display after Sunday. Alex Meret spills Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s powerful drive and JUST reaches it before Alexandre Lacazette could convert.

38: Save! Aaron Ramsey collects a flick-on from a free-kick and absolutely leathers it at Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret. He parries clear and Nacho Monreal is a little over-eager to collect the loose ball.

37: “Arsenal are almost guaranteed to concede so i think we will need 3 or 4 goal to have any serious advantage in this first leg,” says Anteneh on twitter. The fella sitting opposite me thinks the same as he scoffs down his delightful smelling dinner without offering me a bite.

34: Should be 3-0. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang strides down the left channel completely unopposed before squaring it to Lacazette in the middle… who misses the ball completely! Don’t often see a fresh air kick at this level.

31: Since the start of last season, Aaron Ramsey has been directly involved in eight goals in the Europa League (6 goals, 2 assists), more than any other Arsenal player.

30: UEFA are still crediting Lucas Torreira with Arsenal’s second goal. I suspect it won’t be long before that’s changed – unless one of the board has Torreira anytime of course…

27: Well this is the absolute dream start for Arsenal – now to really press the advantage home. Napoli are totally out-of-sorts and don’t know how to deal with the Gunners.

ARSENAL 2-0 NAPOLI | KOULIBALY OG

24: What?! Arsenal have doubled their lead against Napoli – who look completely stunned! Their fans are also silent for the first time in 12 hours.

All credit needs to go to Torreira, who wins the ball in midfielder from the napping Ruiz. The Uruguayan brings it forward before sharply turning onto his left peg.

His low strike is going off target but a desperately unlucky deflection off Kalidou Koulibaly wrong-foots Meret.

21: Mario Rui nudges Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang inside the penalty area but referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco theatrically waves his arms to say no.

18: That was a beautiful goal. Just when you think Mesut Ozil is hanging on to it too long, he engineers that. Aaron Ramsey with the forward run and finish. Lovely stuff from Arsenal. It begs the question – why on earth can’t they do this away from the Emirates!

15: Aaron Ramsey getting used to scoring against Serie A teams. Excellent research for the Welshman.

ARSENAL 1-0 NAPOLI | RAMSEY

14: Please keep an eye on any celebrities that you know because Aaron Ramsey has done it again!!

The midfielder, who is joining Juventus this summer, collects Alexandre Lacazette’s clever squared pass before his low effort flies beyond Meret.

Lovely well-worked move and fully deserved.

13: Big let-off for Arsenal. The Gunners high line nearly got them BANG in trouble as Napoli break. Zielinski, who signed for Liverpool 100 times before never actually signing, plays a dreadful pass to the unmarked Insigne and Koscielny makes the block.

10: How good is Kalidou Koulibaly? Very. No wonder half the clubs in Europe are trying o sign him.

Napoli gift the ball to Sead Kolasinac on the left flank. The full-back drives to the byline before teeing up Aaron Ramsey, whose shot and rebound are both blocked by Koulibaly. Absolute mountain of a man.

8: Maitland-Niles and Kolasinac are almost in a different post code to the three centre-backs. Nice and high up the field looking to stay wide and stretch Napoli.

5: Crikey, I’d almost forgotten that the subject of every transfer rumour on earth is playing tonight. Good chance to see how £100million-rated Kalidou Koulibaly handles this Arsenal attack. No issues thus far as the hosts continue dominate the ball.

3: Nice reception for David Ospina on his return to Arsenal. He’s on the bench for Napoli. Also interesting to see Napoli’s top scorer Arkadiusz Milik on the bench – he could do damage at some point tonight.

It’s been a positive start from Arsenal. Quick switch of play sets Maitland-Niles free and his whipped cross is cleared for a corner – but there’s an infringement inside the box.

ARSENAL 0-0 NAPOLI

1: Ready? Good, we’re underway at the Emirates. Say what you want about the Europa League anthem – it’s really grown on me!

Prediction

19:58: Matin Keown is in an unusually positive mood tonight. He’s confident Arsenal will win the match 3-1. John Hartson goes one better when saying the Gunners will keep a clean sheet!

My thoughts? Not that you care – but surely this Napoli side will score. 1-1.

Five-minute warning

19:55: Nearly underway folks. The Napoli fans have travelled in their numbers and have packed out that away section. Plenty of Arsenal supporters too – looks close to a sell-out.

10-2…

19:50: Nearly made it without mentioning THAT two-legged tie. Sorry!

Carlo Ancelotti admits he fondly remembers leading Bayern Munich to a 10-2 thrashing of Arsenal two years ago – but insists his current Napoli side face a different proposition against the Gunners.

Ancelotti oversaw three Premier League wins in four London derbies with Arsenal during his two seasons in charge of Chelsea.

But his last meeting with Arsenal saw his Bayern Munich outfit win both legs of their 2016/17 Champions League round of 16 tie 5-1 – in what would prove to be Arsene Wenger’s last-ever game in the competition.

“If I say I forgot it is not true,” Ancelotti said. “I didn’t forget this but each game is a different story, imagine every season different clubs, different manager so it will a totally different story. That game with Bayern is only a good memory.”

VAR…

19:45: Yep, we’re using VAR at the Emirates tonight folks. I think we all saw it at its very best during the Manchester United vs Barcelona match yesterday.

Fingers crossed it doesn’t dominate the headlines today. WOuldn’t hold your breath though.

Twitter round-up

Aaron: Napoli fan here, so happy to have Insigne back. Looking forward to seeing what damage Insigne and Mertens can do against this arsenal defence! But not Lafayette and Aubameyang, I’m worried about that!

Sulaimon: Arsenal will do better than Chelsea in the Europa League because of Unai Emery’s expertise of winning the trophy thrice with Sevilla.

Razz: Why does Emery insist on playing Ozil when he doesn’t produce? Glad Mustafi isn’t playing though!

He has indeed won it thrice Sulaimon. Thrice is the word of the day – congratulations.

‘Control’

19:35: Arsenal boss Unai Emery to BT Sport: “They have very good players. They have very offensive players. We need to control the passes and spaces. We need to control the match. We know it will be difficult.”

The Masters

19:30: Anyone been watching The Masters? Now I don’t know much about golf but hasn’t stopped me from having a punt.

Much like the Grand National – everyone’s throwing around tips like they are sweets.

I was so confused that I went for about five guys to win the tournament. Needless to say – they are all current +1.

‘We want to win and not concede’

19:25: Wise words from Arsenal manager Unai Emery there. Here’s the full transcript from the Spaniard’s press conference.

“Tomorrow we are going to play at home with our supporters and we know we need to win tomorrow,” Emery.

“Our first target is to win, but also we don’t want to concede chances for them to score. That’s important. We know they have good players and also have had good performances in the season.

“In the last matches there may have been some doubts, but tomorrow they will play with the best performance. I am sure.

“We need to be very competitive in the 90 minutes. We want to win and not concede goals, but we know that can come.

“We will play two matches, 90 minutes here and 90 minutes away, and we are prepared for if it’s decided on extra time or penalties. It’s going to be a very good game tomorrow and away between us because we have two teams of very good players.”

Twitter round-up

Khee: Unai Emery needs to stop being a coward away and start playing to our strengths!

Richard: After seeing Pep on the tube a few months ago, I can *exclusively* reveal that Unai Emery is currently 2 metres behind me on the Hornsey Rd.

James: This is the first time Lucas Torreira and Aaron Ramsey have lined up as the double pivot for Unai Emery this season. Quite a time to be forced into a change of system.

Care to elaborate, Khee? And what a MASSIVE scoop Richard. Picture or it didn’t happen…

Team News – Five changes

19:10: Arsenal made five changes for their Europa League quarter-final first leg clash with Napoli.

Captain Laurent Koscielny recovers from a foot injury to take a place in a Gunners back-three while goalkeeper Petr Cech comes in.

Lucas Torreira, Aaron Ramsey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were also recalled as Unai Emery’s side look to secure a positive result to take to Naples next week.

Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti made three alterations to his Napoli side, with fit-again striker Lorenzo Insigne the standout inclusion following a thigh problem.

Slavia Prague vs Chelsea

19:05: Here are the line-ups for Chelsea’s Europa league clash. Eden Hazard and quite a few other first-teamers are rested.

Slavia Prague XI: Kolar, Coufal, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Deli, Boril, Traore, Kral, Masopust, Sevcik, Stoch, Olayinka.

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Jorginho, Barkley, Kovacic, Pedro, Giroud, Willian.

You can follow LIVE updates of that game by clicking HERE.

Last time out

19:00: Arsenal and Napoli have faced off just twice before in Europe – home and away in the group stages of the Champions League in 2013-14; Arsenal winning 2-0 at the Emirates, before losing by the same scoreline at the Stadio San Paolo.

Away nightmare and home comforts

18:55: Arsenal simply HAVE to beat Napoli tonight given their abysmal record away from home.

The Gunners have won five Premier League away games all season, losing 1-0 at Everton last weekend. I watched that game and the Toffees could easily have scored four or five.

Emery’s side have also fallen to defeat in their last two away Europa League knockout games, having to turn around ties against BATE Borisov and Rennes to set up a last-eight meeting with Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli.

This time, Arsenal are at home first and their form at the Emirates could not be in more stark contrast to their away day blues.

A run of 14 wins from their last 15 matches at home, and just one home league defeat all season, has helped Arsenal not only reach the quarter-finals but also rebuild their challenge for a top-four Premier League finish.

Twitter round-up

Paul: I know it’s gonna be a tough game but I’m convinced Arsenal will win 2 or 3 nil tonight. Who’s with me?

Kenny: Very tough game for Arsenal. Think that Napoli will qualify over the two legs. Going for a 1-1 this evening.

Mizo: Massive game tonight! One can only hope that Arsenal actually turn up. We have to take the game to Napoli as it won’t be an easy task going away from home considering just how horrendous we tend to be at other stadiums.

Tom: So… Unai Emery benches Shkodran Mustafi for home games where Arsenal are good and plays him away where Arsenal are rubbish.

You seeing a pattern there, Tom?

Do Napoli travel well?

18:45: Not against English sides in Europe…

They have never beaten an English side away from home in European competition (P8 W0 D1 L7).

They have previously lost in such games against Burnley, Leeds United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.

The starting XI’s…

18:40: Goals tonight? After seeing these line-ups I’m certain we’ll see plenty of goals at the Emirates tonight.

Arsenal XI: Cech, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Ramsey, Kolasinac, Ozil, Lacazette, Aubameyang.

Subs: Leno, Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Mustafi, Denis Suarez, Guendouzi.

Napoli XI: Meret, Hysaj, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Callejon, Allan, Fabian, Zielinski, Insigne, Mertens.

What’s on?

18:35: Beautiful day out – I do hope some of you are enjoying it on my behalf with a crisp pint. Don’t judge me, but I’ll plump for a nice shandy on a sunny day.

I really shouldn’t talk about booze while working. Salivating.

Moving swiftly on, there are three other Europa League quarter-final first leg ties happening tonight – one involving another Premier League outfit.

Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea travel to play Slavia Prague, Benfica face Frankfurt and there’s an all-Spanish tie between Villarreal and Valencia.

I will of course keep you updated with everything throughout the night.

Evening…

18:30: Ciao e benvenuto nella nostra copertura LIVE di Europa League mentre Napoli arriva in citta!

Looks like that GCSE in Italian paid off… Or I used Google Translate to impress you.

Either way – I was saying hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Europa League as Napoli come to town!

Tonight’s Europa League tie possibly hasn’t received as much attention as it should have given the monumental Champions League clashes we’ve had this week.

But make no mistake – this is a massive clash for Unai Emery’s Arsenal.

Ready? Good, then I’ll start.

ARSENAL vs NAPOLI – TEAM NEWS

Arsenal will be hoping both Laurent Koscielny and Granit Xhaka come through late fitness tests to face Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

Napoli visit the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, with Koscielny and Xhaka fighting to be in contention following foot and groin problems respectively.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could also start having overcome an illness which has restricted him to substitute appearances in recent games, with long-term absentees Danny Welbeck (ankle), Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin (both knee) still missing.

Provisional Arsenal squad: Leno, Cech, Maitland-Niles, Lichtsteiner, Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Torreira, Elneny, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Suarez, Ramsey, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Nketiah.