Mikel Arteta and Arsenal face defining moment of season against Benfica in Europa League

Defeat for the Gunners in Thursday's last-32 second-leg tie would not only end their run in Europe, but also their hopes of returning to the Champions League

BENFICA RATINGS: Helton Leite – 6. Despite Arsenal’s dominance, Leite’s involvement in the game wasn’t as prominent as the stats might suggest as the Gunners’ attacking unit struggled to hit the target throughout the 90 minutes. Could do little about Saka’s goal and made a number of fair if unspectacular saves otherwise. PA

Jan Vertonghen – 7. Can consider himself fortunate to not have been booked after nibbling at Saka throughout the first half – a tactic that certainly frustrated the visiting midfielder. But performed well in the hosts’ back three and will be pleased with the result. PA

Nicolas Otamendi – 6. Though Arsenal didn’t move the ball around as quick as they are capable of, Otamendi defended well and frustrated the visitors whose clear-cut opportunities were at a premium. That said, holes did appear – something which will need to be corrected for the second leg. AFP

Lucas Verissimo – 6. Will be delighted to make a full first-team debut in Benfica’s Europa League campaign and played well with the experienced figures of Vertonghen and Otamendi by his side. Reuters

Pizzi – 7. Struck a well-taken penalty shortly into the second half to put Benfica ahead before Saka promptly equalised at the other end. Ultimately, the penalty was one of few highlights for Pizzi who will perhaps admit himself a 1-1 draw was a fortunate result. EPA

Adel Taarabt – 7. Turned well in midfield to advance play forward on the rare occasion that space opened up for Benfica inside the centre circle. Despite holding defensive responsibilities, Taarabt advanced play forward well too and sparked life into the hosts’ game. PA

Alejandro Grimaldo – 7. Executed the occasional tackle well in midfield to cut out play and looked to advance play forwards when possible too. His efforts perhaps went a little under the radar as the likes of Nunez and Waldschmidt continue to struggle for goals up front. Reuters

Julian Weigl – 6 Arguably the weaker link in Benfica’s busy midfield that was largely dictated by the out-of-possession movement of Odegaard. Will perhaps need to drop in a bit deeper next week assuming Arsenal’s star man adopts a similar role that created so much time and space. PA

Diogo Goncalves – 6. Occasionally threatened down the right wing, but nothing major enough to concern Arsenal chief Mikel Arteta ahead of next week’s second leg. Will be looking to build on this evening’s performance if Benfica are to stand a chance of qualifying. AFP

Darwin Nunez – 5. Nunez has been somewhat of a frustrating character for Benfica this term amid their struggle to establish a grip on their league campaign. Opportunities were few and far between for Benfica this evening, and the striker’s threat was rarely of concern to Arteta’s men. Getty

Luca Waldschmidt – 6. Minimal involvement in the game as Arsenal dominated proceedings in the opening half despite struggling to test home ‘keeper Leite. Continues to struggle for goals having scored just twice since mid-November. Taken off at half-time. Reuters

SUBSTITUTES: Rafa Silva (for Waldschmidt, 45) – 6. Came on to add some body to Benfica’s midfield and largely did his job. AFP

Everton Soares (for Nunez, 63) – 6. A lack of opportunity up front as Arsenal’s superior possession meant opportunities were at a premium. EPA

Haris Seferovic (for Pizzi, 63) – 6. Little impression on the game as goalscorer Pizzi made way. Reuters

Chiquinho (for Verissimo, 85) – N/A. Introduced too late to make an impression with game already fizzing out. Gabriel Pires (for Taarabt, 77) – N/R. Appeared content to hold his role and see the game out in midfield. PA

ARSENAL RATINGS: Bernd Leno – 6. Was forced into making a couple of saves, but generally experienced a quiet game as struggling Benfica found it hard to make an impression on the Gunners’ back four. Dived the correct way for the penalty but was short on reach and consequently conceded. Reuters

Cedric Soares – 7. A solid defensive performance throughout, and he put his body on the line when required to keep Benfica’s attacking threats to a minimum. Advanced play forward well too and will be pleased to have notched an assist when setting up Saka after receiving a fine pass from Odegaard. PA

Gabriel – 6. Still establishing himself back in the first team and can reflect on another solid performance. Appears to be growing in confidence, but admittedly Benfica’s lack of urgency up front meant this evening’s game wasn’t his greatest test. Getty

David Luiz – 6. Playing against his former club, Luiz played well but was rarely tested as Benfica struggled to make an impression on the visitors’ goal. Could be a key figure in the second leg down to his experience alone. Reuters

Hector Bellerin – 7. Linked up superbly with Saka on more than one occasion to help advance play forward for the Gunners with relative ease. Would have been in disbelief to see Aubameyang place a close-range shot from his cross wide on 18 minutes when it appeared easier to score than miss. Getty

Bukayo Saka – 7. It can be argued that Saka could have popped the ball around quicker to prevent Benfica establishing their shape so easily. But Saka played with plenty of confidence and found the net from close range to make up for an earlier scuffed shot that drifted underwhelmingly wide of goal. PA

Granit Xhaka – 6. Enjoyed a fair game, but a standout moment of madness at the conclusion of the first half when playing a diagonal ball when simpler options were available almost left him red-faced. Getty

Dani Ceballos – 7. Executed a number of punishing passes that deserved much more than what Arsenal’s forwards delivered. Played well defensively too and put his body on the line to save Xhaka’s embarrassments at the conclusion of the first half. AFP

Martin Odegaard – 8. Arsenal’s man of the match. Played freely in central midfield and his movement both in and out of possession caused Benfica significant problems. His fantastic vision mixed with some fine passing was rewarded when he fed a killer ball to Cedric that led to Arsenal’s first goal. Getty

Emile Smith-Rowe – 7. Was switched out to the left by Mikel Arteta as Odegaard played the No.10 role. Initially his ball-carrying trait was perhaps missed in midfield, but Smith-Rowe played brightly throughout and his dynamic movement in possession was a real asset for the Gunners. Getty

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 4. Fresh from his hat-trick at the weekend against Leeds United, Aubameyang appeared fatigued and delivered a laboured performance against Benfica. Missed a first-half sitter when guiding a near open-goal chance wide before fluffing his lines on more than one occasion in the second half too. A game to forget. PA

SUBSTITUTES: Kieran Tierney (for Cedric, 63) – 5. Crossing was understandably rusty but nonetheless displayed a good work rate. A performance to build on. Getty

Nicolas Pepe (for Aubameyang, 77) – N/A. Was lively in the penalty area but couldn’t make that all important impression on goal. AFP

Gabriel Martinelli (for Smith-Rowe, 77) – N/A. Lacked support from his teammates during the limited minutes he had. Willian (for Odegaard, 90) – N/A. No time granted to influence the game. Mohamed Elneny (for Ceballos, 90) – N/A. Came on in the dying minutes with little time to make an impact. PA

Mikel Arteta has a 100 per cent record in finals with Arsenal. As a player, he won two Community Shields and one FA Cup final. As a manager, he has prevailed in both the Community Shield and the FA Cup. Now he approaches what he describes as another final.

It would be more accurate to say a Europa League last-32 second-leg tie could have a finality. With three months of the season remaining, it could end not merely Arsenal’s European run, but their bid to return to the Champions League.

They are in the bottom half of the Premier League, 11 points off the top four. If that were accompanied by an early European exit, it would be enough to render their season a failure.

If the combination of an inexperienced manager and a youthful group of players always indicated it could be a year of transition, Arsenal's heavy investment in the contracts for the ageing pair of Willian and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the £50 million ($70m) purchase of Thomas Partey indicated an immediate aim to return to the top table. The gamble could backfire.

A 1-1 draw with Benfica last week leaves them imperilled on Thursday. "For us, it's a final," Arteta said. "It's a big season and a really important [game] mentally and confidence-wise. It's going to dictate if we're in another competition or not for a few more weeks. It's a really tough opponent.

"It's a Champions League team who have been playing in these types of games for many years with a manager with huge experience.”

The'fact Arteta rested Emile Smith Rowe and David Luiz for Sunday's defeat to Manchester City suggested his priorities have shifted. Publicly, he insisted Arsenal are competing on multiple fronts.

“Mathematically everything is possible,” he said. “You have to try so hard. We're going to do that in the league for sure. The Europa League gives you a completely different route and is a competition that we want to carry on playing, and try to win it.

"The better we are in the Europa League, the better we're going to be performing in the league and vice-versa. We need to be alive in both competitions.”

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Gallery: Arsenal 0 Manchester City 1

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Arsenal will be without the injured Rob Holding tonight while Partey will undergo a fitness test on his hamstring problem. The midfielder won the Europa League with Atletico Madrid in 2018 and has been excellent when fit but his Arsenal career has been pockmarked by injuries. He has been limited to 10 starts and has missed their last three games.

Another of Arsenal's money men presents a different sort of issue. Aubameyang missed a series of chances in last week's draw, reviving unwanted memories of last year's Europa League exit to Olympiakos, when he somehow failed to score from six yards.

Arteta shrugged off concerns about his captain, who is enduring his least prolific season as a Gunner. “I think the best way to talk is always on the pitch,” he said. “When he scored the hat-trick and he could have scored four or five against Leeds, he was again the main man.

"He could have scored a hat-trick against Benfica easily with his qualities and it would have been different. It's about putting the ball in the back of the net for him and that's how he gets joy.”

Benfica have drawn their last three games in all competitions and are a distant fourth in Portugal, 15 points adrift of leaders Sporting, but theirs is a glorious past.

Arteta is a fan of their greatest player, Eusebio, and has a pair of his boots. He said: “He was a player that created a massive admiration with a huge personality and charisma.”