Arsenal came back from behind to secure a 3-1 win over Valencia in the first-leg of their Europa League semifinal clash on Thursday night.
The Spanish visitors bagged the opening goal through Mouctar Diakhaby 11 minutes into the game, but the Gunners restored parity seven minutes later through Alexandre Lacazette.
The Frenchman, who could have gotten at least a hat-trick on the night put Arsenal into the lead eight minutes later, and his striking counterpart Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 3-1 during the closing seconds of the clash.
While the aforementioned duo were crucial to the Gunners’ victory, it was the resolute performance of centre-back Laurent Koscielny at the other end that caught the eyes of many, including club legend Ian Wright.
The Frenchman played through the pain barrier for 82 minutes and could barely walk by the end after injuring his Achilles and hobbling for larger parts of the game.
Here is how Wright reacted to his display on Twitter.
Laurent Koscielny ???????? pic.twitter.com/7GpZ57ZEWW
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) May 2, 2019
Despite being battered and bruised, Koscielny helped the Arsenal defence tick, and manager Unai Emery will be hoping he is available for next Thursday’s return leg in Spain, and more importantly, the final in Baku.
The 33-year-old has barely been fit this term but has arguably been the club’s best centre-back, and winning the Europa League this term will be great reward for his resilience and brilliance over the years.
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