Arsenal crush CSKA, put one foot in Europa League semi-finals

Goals: Ramsey 9', 28', Lacazette (penalty) 23', 35' - Golovin 15'

Arsenal needed just over five minutes to find the back of the net for CSKA Moscow. However, Aaron Ramsey's goal was disallowed because his assist man, Mesut Ozil, was offside.

Two minutes later, it was the Welsh midfielder who scored again against the Russian team, and this time, he had a chance to celebrate. Hector Bellerin's cross from the right wing eliminated the entire away team's defense. The remaining task for Ramsey was too easy.

The former Cardiff City man's opener kicked off a blistering 30 minutes for the Gunners. Despite Aleksandr Golovin equalising in the 15th minute with a free-kick, Arsene Wenger's men scored three goals in just over 10 minutes.

It started with Alexandre Lacazette's successful penalty in the 23rd minute, after Ozil was fouled in the box. Five minutes later, Ramsey completed his double with a kick like a sepak takraw player, when he broke the offside trap to receive Ozil's pass. In the 35th minute, CSKA's net shook for the fourth time thanks to Lacazette's control and neat finish.

The score could have been bigger, if Ozil had finished more accurately in a one-on-one encounter at the end of the first half or if Henrik Mkhitaryan had hit the target early in the second half. With less than 15 minutes left, Ramsey almost completed his hat-trick when he hit the post of the CSKA goal.

Substitute striker Danny Welbeck also showed his lack of luck. Minutes after replacing Lacazette, he had a chance to shoot from less than 5 meters away, but goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev reacted promptly.

CSKA again had Petr Cech's goal in the second half, but it was disallowed for an offside. Viktor Goncharenko's players tried hard, but left too many gaps in their three-man defence.

Both Arsenal and CSKA opted for an open style of play, something that is rare in European knockout matches. The first leg of the quarter-final at the Emirates was exciting until the last minute, as the Russians were determined to close the gap before the return leg a week later.

Despite not scoring, Ozil was arguably the best player of the match. The German international provided two assists for Ramsey and Lacazette to make it 3-1 and 4-1 respectively. He was deployed as a right-sided attacking midfielder, and stood out alongside teammates Mkhitaryan and Jack Wilshere.