Europa League: Aubameyang brace powers Arsenal to 4-2 victory over Vorskla Poltava

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a brace as Arsenal thrashed Vorskla Poltava 4-2 in their Group E encounter on Thursday.

Signed from Borussia Dortmund, the Gabon striker may have found it difficult in the English Premier League with just one goal in five starts but was in top-notch against Vorskla. He opened the scoring in the 32^nd minute and scored his second 11 minutes into the second half, while Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck netted the other two.

Continuing their good form from the EPL, Arsenal were relentless in their attack. They were further frustrated by the stubborn defence of Vorskla. But resistance broke in the 32^nd minute when Henrikh Mkhitaryan found Alex Iwobi on a quick counter after dispossessing a Vorskla defender.

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He found Aubameyang with a cross and the latter did the rest finding the net on his European debut. Aubameyang had another opportunity to score but was denied by the upright, before Mkhitaryan forced Bohdan Shust into a save.

Arsenal then doubled their lead just three minutes after the break when Danny Welbeck headed home Mkhitaryan’s cross before Aubameyang added his second with a powerful finish from 20-yards out.

Ozil came off the bench and soon added a fourth from a simple tap-in after Stephan Lichtsteiner’s looping cross into the box had eluded a host of opposition defenders.

Two minutes after his goal, Vorskla pulled one back through skipper Volodymyr Chesnakov, who fired into the roof of the net. Vyacheslav Sharpar added a second consolation goal with the final kick of the game.