Share

Giroud reaches century as Arsenal win in Belarus

Paris - Olivier Giroud got his 100th Arsenal goal as a youthful Gunners side beat BATE Borisov 4-2 in Belarus in the Europa League on Thursday.

Theo Walcott netted twice for the Premier League side and Rob Holding was also on target as they eased to a second victory in as many matches in Group H.

Arsene Wenger's side beat Cologne 3-1 at home in their first outing a fortnight ago, and the Germans lost again on Thursday, going down 1-0 at home to Red Star Belgrade.

Wenger made nine changes to the Arsenal team after they travelled to eastern Europe on the back of a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

Only Shkodran Mustafi and Mohamed Elneny kept their places, while a number of youngsters featured with Joe Willock being handed a first senior start.

It was two comparative veterans who combined for Arsenal's early opener, though, with Jack Wilshere setting up Walcott to head in from close range.

Walcott made it 2-0 midway through the first half after an awful error by BATE goalkeeper Denis Scherbitski, who miscued a clearance straight to the England forward.

Holding then bundled in his first Arsenal goal but a superb header by Mirko Ivanic allowed the Belarusian champions to pull one back before the half-hour.

Holding and Willock hit the woodwork and Giroud converted from the penalty spot early in the second half, becoming the 19th player to reach a century of goals for Arsenal.

That was not the end of the scoring, though, as Mikhail Gordeichuk got the hosts' second of the night, converting the follow-up after David Ospina saved from Ivanic.

Arsenal next go to Serbia to face a Red Star side whose winner in Germany was scored by Ghanaian international Richmond Boakye.

In other early kick-offs on Thursday, Marseille lost 1-0 away to Salzburg in Austria in Group I while Athletic Bilbao and Hertha Berlin both lost in Group J.

Felipe Caicedo and Ciro Immobile were both on target as Lazio defeated the Belgians Zulte-Waregem 2-0 in Group K.

In the same section, Alassane Plea scored twice and Allan Saint-Maximin found the net in stunning style after collecting possession deep in his own half as Nice beat Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands 3-0 in a game interrupted for around 15 minutes due to floodlight failure.

Former UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg were 3-1 winners at home to Real Sociedad in Group L with Russian international Alexander Kokorin scoring twice.

Later games include Everton - beaten at Atalanta on matchday one - at home to Apollon Limassol of Cyprus and AC Milan up against Croatian champions Rijeka.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1779 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE