Three lessons learned from Arsenal’s 3-0 Europa League victory

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Arsenal safely confirmed their progress to the last 16 of the Europa League last night with a 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov.

The Gunners never looked like surrendering their place in the competition, despite a first-leg defeat.

A Zakhar Volkov own goal and goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos saw the Gunners home.

It will undoubtedly raise confidence around the Emirates ahead of this Sunday’s game with Southampton.

The Gunners haven’t been in great form of late but this was just the tonic.

Here are three things we learned from Arsenal’s latest win…

Ozil is back

A surprise inclusion last night saw Mesut Ozil thrust back into the spotlight.

The 30-year hasn’t played a single minute of football since coming on as a late substitute in the 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United in January.

Ozil looked the part on a good night for the German attacking midfielder.

On this form, he showed that he cares about getting back into Emery’s thoughts, whilst he also showcased his undoubted talent.

BATE aren’t very good

The Belarussians showed just how poor they are on a night to forget.

Despite holding a first leg lead they never looked like going through. From the moment Volkov put through his own net in the fourth minute, the writing was on the wall.

It also highlighted just how dreadful Arsenal had been in the first leg.

Xhaka can play

The Swiss midfielder has been a big part of Emery’s plans this season.

He showed why the manager has placed his trust in him on a brilliant night for the 26-year-old.

Xhaka had missed the last two games with an injury but returned here with a timely reminder of what he can do when his mind is on it.

The challenge for Emery now is to get Xhaka up to this level on a more consistent basis.