Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hailed the mentality of midfielder Dani Ceballos after the club secured their progress to the last 16 of the Europa League.
The Gunners won their last 32 tie against Benfica with a 4-3 aggregate win but it was far from straightforward as plenty of drama unfolded at the Karaiskaki Stadium last night.
The club already had an away goal advantage after the 1-1 draw in the first leg and they took the lead in the 21st minute in Piraeus through Aubameyang.
However, Benfica levelled the scores through a stunning free-kick from Diogo Goncalves in the 41st minute which found the top left corner of Bernd Leno’s net.
The set-piece came about from Ceballos’ needless tackle and the Spaniard had another horror moment after the hour mark of the contest.
The midfielder tried to head the ball to Leno from 35 yards out and his poor attempt gifted the ball to Rafa Silva, who rounded the goalkeeper for an easy tap-in.
That left the Gunners needing two goals in just over 30 minutes to stay in the competition and they were able to do so in the end.
Kieran Tierney made it 3-3 on aggregate with a composed finish in the 67th minute before Aubameyang scored a dramatic winner three minutes from time.
Ceballos was substituted shortly after the defensive blunder leading to Silva’s goal. Following the game, he was a relieved man after witnessing the Gunners comeback.
He posted his reaction on Twitter and that received an instant reply from Aubameyang, who was pleased with the midfielder acknowledging his mistake.
This is the mentality this is what we Need Vamos hermano 💪🏽💪🏽❤️❤️😘
— AUBA⚡️ (@Aubameyang7) February 25, 2021
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
