London: Unai Emery warned Arsenal to expect a strong response from Napoli after his side seized the initiative with a 2-0 win in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday.
Emery’s men took control of the tie with a dominant first-half performance at the Emirates Stadium. Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring with a cool finish to cap a flowing move and the Gunners were further ahead before half-time when Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly deflected Lucas Torreira’s shot into his own net.
Arsenal couldn’t add to the lead after the break, but they had done enough to put themselves in pole position ahead of the second leg in Naples on April 18. However, Emery is well aware that Arsenal have a wretched away record this season, while Napoli should be a more formidable force in front of their vociferous fans at the San Paolo Stadium.
“The first leg was very important to take a good result. We deserved to win, but we know it is going to be very difficult there,” Emery said.
“Their performances at home are usually very strong. We will plan to win the match, but we need to have a lot of respect for them.
“It is still 50-50. Our challenge is to be competitive away. Sometimes away we lost the spirit we have at home.”
Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti remains confident of a second-leg comeback. “The first half we were really bad. We weren’t brave enough to control the game as we wanted,” he said. (AFP)
